I'm Italian, what'd you expect?
by Lox H
Summary: Kaila isn't you're average Navy turned cop, she's an Italian baby! Unfortunately one of her cousins ends up in town, and she ain't here for a social visit. I'm really bad at summaries, it's better than it sounds.
1. Thank You Captain Reiteration

"We are not having this conversation!" I screeched, my hands gripping the steering wheel in a deadly fashion.

"Why not?" Grace asked me.

"I… It's not my place sweetie."

"But Uncle Steve and Danno said you would tell me." She started pouting that puppy pout that even the hardest of men could crack to.

"_Of course they did_. What about your mom?"

"She's in London with step-Stan."

"Oh, well erm... the boy and the girl, they erm… they get really close after a long time, and one day they want to get even closer. So they erm… they cuddle and then she ends up knocked up… I mean pregnant. Then after 9 ish months, she has to give birth." I smiled, happy with my awkward speech.

"Oh. Okay." She smiled very innocently.

We were driving past Honolulu Airport in my 1967 Shelby GT500, listening to her Disney albums when I heard gunshots. Screams of terrified people rang through the air and I watched as many of them ran back into the Airport itself. The hot air had just gone up at _least_ 20°c in about 3 seconds. I quickly stopped the car at the curb and threw Grace into the foot well. I covered her with my body and whispered,

"Stay down. No matter what!" She nodded and I saw her start to whimper. I hushed her as gently as possible and waited until the gunshots had stopped. I carefully got up, grabbed my Nagant M1895 revolver from my holster and checked to see if the shooters were still there. I knew there was one behind us thanks to my side mirrors, so I secured my gun into my bra and made sure my hoodie was covering it. _Thank the Lord for oversized hoodies_. I looked at Grace and threw the blanket from the back over her. I pulled the seat forward to cover her as best I could. I grabbed my iPod that was playing the music, grabbed the earphones and gave it to her.

"Here, put it on full blast and listen to the music or watch a movie. I'll be back before the end of the playlist." I smiled at her as best I could and she nodded and placed the buds next to one of her ears. I went and grabbed the extra gun from the back and loaded it up. I heard footsteps coming closer and saw the barrel of a Benelli M4 pointing in my direction.

"Get out!" A deep voice shouted.

"Keep your panties on, I'm comin'." I slid out of the driver's door and stepped into the road. He pointed his gun to mine and motioned for me to drop it. I did as he asked.

I noticed that they'd blocked off the road entrance and exit. Their were three other cars which all had the same markings on. Four big black SUV's, _how original_. They obviously hadn't thought about the people who actually used this road. There were at least six cars all parked with the occupants looking absolutely terrified. I took note of their license plates for a later date. _Thank the lord for photographic memory._

With my hands on the back of my neck, I felt a barrel touch my head and then a guy sneer,

"On the ground." I dropped to my knees and looked at my jean clad legs.

"What exactly do you want?" I asked with pure curiosity laced in my voice.

"Lieutenant Commander Kaila Costello?"

"Yeah."

"You working with the Five-0 task force?"

"Depends on what my chances of living are."

"_Just. Answer._"

"_Fine. Yes._"

"Well you are our message to both The Governor and Commander McGarrett."

"Lieutenant."

"What?" He sneered.

"It's _Lieutenant_ Commander." I stated simply.

"Whatever."

"So, what's the message?" I asked.

"A life for a life."

I scoffed and then a phone rang. Three of the five guys turned to watch the fourth one answer. I noticed this and turned to look at the big brute behind me. I noticed they all looked the same. About six-foot, shoulder length hair tied back and built like brick walls. I noticed they all had a big black star surrounded by five smaller stars. _Charming, a gang._

"Nice how they keep you out of the loop." I said, while looking at the others.

"What?"

"Yah. You have to stay here with a prisoner, _moi_, while they get the information from the phone." I said in a matter of fact tone.

He grunted and moved from behind me, gun still aimed at me whilst looking at the others. He started to mutter incoherently and I took this opportunity to grab my gun from my bra. I quickly stood up and aimed for him.

"FIVE-O, PUT THE GUNS DOWN!" I shouted.

They all turned and aimed their guns at me. _Okay, maybe I would have been better with the silent approach._ The dude with the phone shot at me so I shot back at him and got him in his leg. As he went down, he screamed in pain and dropped his cell phone. I noticed that as the cell phone landed on the floor, the other guy went and stood on it, and by the looks of him, after lifting his foot up, it would be in smithereens. _Great, only way of finding out who was on the other end of that call. Way to go el stupido. _He smiled at me and walked towards me with the others following his lead. I looked at the guards stood there, still in shock I'm guessing.

"Hey! Yeah you guys with the guns, as you can see I'm a little tied up with these guys so, could I have some, oh I don't know, HELP?" I knew my sarcasm was getting the better of me so I refrained from using my choice of words.

I watched as they removed their guns and aimed them at the four guys that were walking towards me. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I put my eyes back on the big guy who was almost in my personal bubble. _Well, at least that's four guards against three of these guys. That just leaves the one who's closer than the rest. Yay._

"Look, I don't wanna do this, so just put the nice shiny gun down, get on your knees and I'll just have you put in jail for the minor charges. What d'ya say?" I smiled pretty nicely considering the situation.

"No way, I just wanna get this over and done with. The boss would be so much happier if he had your pretty face on his wall of accomplishments." He smiled sadistically.

"Wouldn't that be the complete opposite of what your boss is trying to achieve? I mean first, he wants me to give a message to both the Governor and McGarrett but here you are, doing your damnedest to kill me." I said, hoping this would deter him from his next action. _Well, that didn't help one smidge._

"Either way, I think you being dead would get the message across, don't you?" He chuckled very evilly. _Wouldn't surprise me if he was one of those kids that rip Barbie's head off for fun._

I watched as he took a single shell, placed the end of the shell against the loading flap just ahead of the trigger guard, and using his thumb, he pushed the shell straight up until that distinct "click", that just made me cringe today, was heard. I knew the magazine tube was loaded because I'd watched how many he'd loaded earlier on. I sighed disappointedly, as he loaded the chamber, operating the slide backwards then forwards with a reasonable amount of force. _Why couldn't he have just dropped the gun, honestly?_ He chuckled darkly as he aimed the barrel of the gun at me.

I quickly glanced around him and the guards had got the three men on the ground, disarmed and in handcuffs. The taller guard nodded to me and quietly came up behind us.

"Look, I have two men behind you, both armed, and your other guys are on the floor in handcuffs, probably with a mouth full of asphalt. I'm almost certain at least _one_ person has called HPD and they are _probably_ on their way as we speak. So put the gun down for crying out loud."

"I think I'd rather die trying to kill you, than rot in some cell." His last chance had just gone out of the window, and as his finger slid to the trigger I took the shot. He dropped to the ground and his hand released his Benelli.

"Keep an eye on him for a minute."

"Sure thing." The tall guard smiled.

After I'd kicked his gun away, I went and checked the closest SUV's first. i found nothing and no one to occupy them so I went back to my Shelby. Walking back, I heard this god-awful explosion. I fell to the ground and covered my head. I turned, only to find that the two SUV's I'd just looked in, had blown themselves up. I quickly got up and looked at the security guards, arms covering their heads and all beat up. The handcuffed hooligans were all in their own strange position in an attempt to stop shrapnel hitting them. I turned to see that HPD were coming up the road, two cop cars had already been looking at the other unexploded SUV's.

"HEY, GET AWAY FROM THOSE SUV'S, THEY MAY BE UNSTABLE!" I roared. Luckily the officers closer to me turned and told the officers next to the cars. They ran back to safety and from what I heard, called for the bomb squad. The ambulance carefully made its way through the traffic and stopped where it was easily accessible.

I watched as Duke came strolling up to me with that 'you better not have caused this' look. I smiled at him sweetly and he frowned.

"What happened?"

"I was driving through here when I heard gunshots. I stopped the car, grabbed my gun and checked it out. Got a Benelli M4 pointed at me and ended up been on the ground with it pointed at the back of my head. The one who's been shot in the leg by your's truly was talking to someone on a cell phone and the guy who's stone cold smashed it up. The guy's are in handcuffs thanks to these fine gentlemen getting checked out and that one threatened to shoot me."

"Okay. You might wanna call your boss though." He smiled and headed off in the suspects direction.

"Hey Duke?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave with these guys until McGarrett's got here, okay?"

"Do I have a choice?" He smiled and I laughed.

"And see the paramedic!"

"Yes sir!" I saluted.

I got to my car to find my car seat still forward and Hannah Montana blasting out. I smiled slightly and pulled the seat back. Gracie jumped and took the earphones out. She smiled then frowned,

"What?" I asked, sitting down in my seat breathing heavily.

"My playlist ran out before you got back." I laughed and grabbed my phone. I dialed 3 and let it ring.

"_McGarrett._"

"Hey, it's Kaila. Shooting at Honolulu Airport. 5 guys, one dead, two alive, two SUV explosions, only one down."

"_What? Are you okay? Is Grace okay?_"

I heard Danny ask what happened to his baby. Steve calmed him saying he's gonna find out if Danny would zip it.

"Yeah, we're fine. Grace listened to Hannah Montana and I got five Benelli M4's pointed at my being."

"_You got FIVE guns pointed at you?_"

"Thank you Captain Reiteration. Can you get down here please?"

"_Sure, we're on our way._"

I clicked the phone off and looked at Grace.

"You okay kid?"

"Yeah. Can I get up yet?" She asked.

"Sure."

She got up and sat in the chair, put the iPod in the middle near the hand brake and sighed shakily. I put the radio on and "The Power of Love" was on.

"And it don't take money,

Don't take fame,

Don't need no credit card, to ride this train." I sang weakly.

"You're bleeding bad." Grace said quietly.

"Where?" I asked with my eyes closed.

"You're shoulder."

"Okay."

"Should I go tell the paramedic?"

"Nah."

I lay there, bleeding heavily and breathing shallowly. I heard tyres screech and sirens blare. I opened my eyes to see Steve and Danny running towards our car and Kono and Chin running towards the suspects.

"Hey how you holding up?" Steve asked me, opening my car door.

"She's bleeding bad." Grace said. She then noticed Danny.

"Danno!" Grace exclaimed.

"Monkey! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay Danno, Auntie Kaila made sure." I smiled at her response.

"Where are you bleeding?" Steve asked me.

"Shoulder." I answered weakly.

"Okay, I'm gonna have to pull you out of the seat. You ready?" I nodded and he grabbed me by my hoodie and literally dragged me onto the road. He took my arms out of my hoodie and pulled off my black tank and left me in my bra, jeans and boots. My curvy body was now on display to every set of eyes that were on that road. _Great._ My dark brown hair had been pulled away from my face and I could tell my straps were being pulled down.

I felt myself slipping in and out of consciousness but I heard Kono demand my bra be left on as I'd probably kill them if it'd been took off in public. I smiled a little and I heard Kono laugh saying she knew I could hear them.

"Okay Costello, stay with me now. Paramedics are just gonna finish their last person okay, then they'll be with you, ya hear?" I heard Steve say. I nodded and tried to open my eyes. Not such a good thing to do when you're bleeding heavily.

"Steady their Kaila. You'll knock the only energy you have left out of ya." I heard Kono say. I laughed but quickly realized that's _also_ a bad thing to do. My chest hurt so badly, I thought I'd had my lungs pummeled with building bricks. I frowned at the feeling and tried to find a more comfortable position.

"W-what's my deal?" I muttered.

"It's a through and through. No major arteries but very close. A few scratches and bruises from the explosion, but all in all, your okay." Steve answered.

"Kay." I felt myself slip into a deep sleep and pure blackness overcome my mind.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	2. Your Husband Is A Very Stubborn Man

_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP._

I heard beeping when I came around. Opening my eyes I saw white walls and white ceilings. I scrunched up my eyes again and opened them to see if I was actually seeing this. I tried to take a deep breath only to find a thick tube stuck down my throat. I coughed a little and looked around to see Steve lying uncomfortably in a hospital chair, his feet placed at the frame of the hospital bed I was in and his hand placed in mine. I smiled and turned when the nurse came in. She wasn't much taller than me, about 5'4, blonde hair and an enviable figure most women would die for. She held her finger to her lips, to stay quiet and I nodded. She smiled at me, took the tube out of my mouth and throat and took her notes.

"He hasn't left your side since you were brought in here." She whispered. I raised my eyebrows at her and she nodded.

"Your husband is a very stubborn man, told the surgeon you were assigned that if you died, he'd hold him personally responsible."

"No pressure then." She laughed quietly at my sarcasm.

"Which hospital am I in?" I asked her.

"Straub Clinic and Hospital ma'am." She smiled at me and I nodded. Processing what she'd just said before, I clicked on.

"Wait did you say _husband_?"

"Yes Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, that's correct. It must be hard when you both have the same titles and surnames."

"Yeah, it can be confusing at times." I smiled. God, I could have been such a successful actress.

"Well, I'm all done. I'll leave you both to rest."

"Thank you, erm…"

"Nala."

"Thank you Nala."

When she'd left the room and was no longer in sight, I turned to Steve and slapped his hand. He woke with a startled look on his face and I just smiled sweetly at him.

"Hey, how long have you been awake? Are you in any pain? Should I get the nurse?" Steve rambled.

"I'm fine _mother_, Nala's just left actually. Speaking of which, when did we get married and how come I didn't get my ring? I thought you'd at _least_ have given me _a ring_, Steven." I raised my eyebrow at him with a small smirk on my face.

"Uh… well… They only let family in."

"And why couldn't you have said you were my brother?" He blushed a little at my question and ran a hand over his face.

"It was the first thing that came into my head."

"Ah. Okay, but I think being a blushing bride an' all, I deserve a flashy ring, don't you think so too _hubby_?" I asked, holding my left hand up and staring intently at my ring finger. He laughed at my answer and nodded.

"So where's the others?" I asked, looking around.

"Home. Grace didn't want to leave but she fell asleep so Danny drove her home. Kono and Chin went back to HQ to find what the hell happened back there."

"Big, tall and fugly had a message." I muttered.

"What?" He asked me.

"The guy who put a gun to my head. He said he had a message for you and the Governor. He said 'A life for a life'." I muttered, looking at my gown.

I looked up at him and he was staring at my feet. I wiggled my toes and he smiled and looked me straight in the eye. I smiled at him and lay back down. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Why me?" I asked.

"I don't know but I'll sure as hell find out. I need to know what they looked like."

"Six foot ish, native, all looked the same, black hair, shoulder length and tied back with a red band. They all had different tattoos. Covered in them, but they all had a big black star on the back of their hands, and I mean black, as if it had just been done but I doubt they'd all had it done on the same day. They also had five little stars circling the bigger one. They had letters in three of the littler stars. W.M.G." I finished.

"Sounds like the Waipahu Mafia Gang."

"Wait, _Mafia Gang_?"

"Yeah."

"God, you'd think that they'd be more original. It's either the _mafia_ or a _gang_. _Not both_."

"They wanted to be special I guess." I laughed at the comment and went to sit up.

As I sat up, I pulled the covers from my legs to find cuts and bruises all over them. I cringed at them but continued to get out of bed. He looked at me as if I was crazy and then looked as if he was getting ready to deck me.

My feet hit the floor, with the rest of my body following them. At least he doesn't have to deck me now. I sobbed a little as I noticed I had no feeling in my knees. Steve had already got his forearms under my armpits by this time and already dragging my ass back into the bed.

He placed me down on my bed, my legs still hanging off the side. My head was hung in absolute embarrassment. Sighing I slowly lifted my head to see Steve staring at me with concern in his eyes.

"_Don't_ pity me. I ain't no charity." I snapped, my eyes narrowing.

"Who says I was pitying you?" He challenged.

"Your eyes say it all."

He stayed quiet after my comment and just sighed.

"Say it." I snarled.

"Say what?"

"That I'm off the team."

"Why the hell would I say that?"

"Because I now have an injury that probably won't heal."

"It'll heal. Just give it time."

I snorted a little. He just looked at me when his phone started to ring.

"McGarrett."

"Sure. How many?"

"On my way."

He clicked the end button and slid his cell back in his pocket. Standing up, he stretched a little and then said,

"Got a suspect on the run near the airport and Chin and Kono need backup. He took Danny and Grace. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He kissed my forehead and I smiled at him. I watched as he left the room and once he went down the hallway, I made myself look as presentable as I could in my _gorgeous_ hospital gown.

"Time for business. _NALA_!" I looked like Georgette from _Oliver and Friends _when she called for Winston.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"Nala, I need you to get me out of this bed and into my gear."

"Ma'am, I can't do that. Your still very weak."

"Would you like me to shoot you? I have clearance."

She just stood in shock, as I held onto objects to stay upright and walked towards my gear. _Maybe threatening to shoot her was a little on the extreme side_. I turned and raised an eyebrow at the nurse.

"Nala, I wouldn't _actually_ shoot you but could you please do as I say?"

She hesitated but nodded.

"Thanks. Now my darling, dose me up on your magic pain killers and I'll be on my way."

"I really shouldn't let you do this y'know."

"I know but I'll just say I put a gun to your head."

"But you didn't, and I can't lie to save my life."

I finished putting my boots on and did up the belt of my jeans. I grabbed my gun, pulled down the hammer and put it to her head. She trembled a little and I let it go.

"Now you aren't lying. I actually put a gun to your head." I smiled at her and she smiled back shakily.

Looking as white as a ghost, she went to inject some sort of potion into my drip. I watched as it slid down and into my needled hand. I felt it go through into my veins and felt it tingle.

"Thanks Nala. I owe you."

She smiled, still unsure of her actions, and I pulled the needle out of my hand slowly. With a slight hiss of pain from the extraction of the needle, I walked to the door steadily and as if by magic, I started to walk as if nothing happened. I smiled at the fact that I could now walk as if nothing had happened. I suddenly thought of something. Turning back, I called Nala.

"Nala, is my car here?"

"Yes, your husband had it towed here."

"Thank ya darlin."

The pain in my shoulder had subsided to just a small sharp pain. I rolled my shoulder and winced slightly. _Okay so it hadn't gone as much as I'd first thought_. My head was now pounding but I continued to work through it straight to the parking lot. I grabbed my cell and called Danny's cell.

"_I'm sorry, the number you have called has been disconnected._"

I growled and snapped my phone shut. _Just great. If they've hurt Gracie, God help them._ I got to my car just in the nick of time. _How sweet_, they put it at the Entrance. I looked in the car only to see my keys in the ignition. _Great. Stupid idiots. Leaving the keys in the car, who does that?_

I sighed. Looking around I realized that I had a good chance of breaking my window with my gun. _Ha-ha, I'm awesome. I'm batman._ I did my little inside happy dance and grabbed my gun by the barrel, looked around to see if their was anyone around that could potentially get me arrested, and smashed my beautiful Ellie's window in.

"Sorry Elle Bell. I'll make it up to ya."

I held my hand over my heart and fake sobbed. Wiping away my fake tears I put my hand through the window and grabbed the latch to open the door. I put my gun back in its holder and got into Ellie who I had now abused.

I turned the key and her engine roared to life. Her tyres screeched out the lot and we were on our way to Honolulu Airport. I grabbed my earpiece and connected it to my phone. I dialed Jenna's number and let it ring. After the third ring, she answered.

"_Jenna Kaye._"

"Hey darlin, it's Kaila. I need you to run a GPS search on this number, if you please."

"_Okay. Go ahead._"

"55463723901."

"Okay. The location is Waikiki Beach."

"Thanks."

"_Can I ask what it is?_" She asked.

"Remember the bracelet I gave Grace with a charm on it?"

"_Yeah._"

"Well it has a tracker. I put it in just in case something like this ever happened. And I am so glad I did now."

"_Want me to ring the guys?_"

"No I'll do it. They still think I'm in the hospital."

"_Aren't you?_"

"No."

"_Where are you?_"

"On my way Waikiki Beach. _Now._"

"_I won't say anything, don't worry._"

"Much obliged darlin." I clicked the button to end the call and with a beep, it turned off.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	3. Danny's Second Child

I sped through the roads off Hawaii at and illegal speed and clicked my phone to three-way Steve, Kono and Chin Ho.

"_McGarrett._"

"_Kono._"

"_Kelly._" They all answered.

"Hey. It's Kaila. Your on three way so y'know, no bitching about each other." I joked.

"_Okay._" They all answered.

"Your all at the wrong place, it's a setup. They're at Waikiki Beach."

"_How do you know?_" Steve asked.

"I put a tracker in Gracie's birthday bracelet. I'm on my way there now. In fact I'm about ten minutes away."

"_What do you mean you're only ten minutes away? Why aren't you in the hospital where I left you?_" Steve asked, his voice rising a little.

"Because _Steven_, she's my little sweetie and I will have you know, I will kill the son of a bitch who touched my Ohana." I heard Kono and Chin laughing at our squabble.

"_Next time I'm gonna handcuff you to the hospital bed._" Steve muttered.

"Now now hubby, no getting kinky in front of the team." I smirked.

"_Kinky my ass._" He muttered.

"Whatever floats your boat bubba." The smile was clearly heard in my voice because Kono and Chin laughed quietly.

"_We'll meet you there. Don't do anything stupid._" Steve ordered.

"Since when do I do anything stupid?"

"_Everyday._" They all said at once. I scoffed.

"Hurtful." I answered faking hurt. They all laughed and said their goodbyes.

I got to the lot of the beach and parked Ellie up. I saw a black SUV with the same markings that were on the ones that blew up. I grabbed the Riot Shotgun from the trunk and checked it was loaded. Knowing all the bullets were in and ready, I locked up Ellie and said,

"I'll be back with two other passengers the next time I see you, old girl." I ran my hand over her hood and went to go get my Ohana back.

Walking along the beach with a slight limp, I held my gun over my shoulder. I heard a shout of an angry man. I picked up my pace when I heard multiple grunts, which sounded as if a struggle was in motion.

As I got closer to the trees I saw Grace tied to a tree, gagged and cut. She had tears streaming down her muddy face. Danny was lying unconscious and bleeding severely. There were two men with the same Benelli M4's that were used in the attack at the airport.

_This is bad. This is very, VERY bad. These guys just don't give up do they? _

I felt my cell buzz in my pocket. Opening it, I held it to my ear.

"Costello." I muttered quietly.

"_Where the hell are you?_" Steve's voice was a mixture between pissed and worried.

"Got eyes on the suspects, Danny and Grace."

"_Why's your window smashed?_"

"Because _someone_ left the _keys_ in the _ignition_. I had to get in somehow."

"_DON'T MOVE. THAT'S AN ORDER._" Steve barked.

"Kay."

I kept my eye on the guys but I noticed that Grace was looking straight at me. Her eyes were wide and she looked as if she was smiling. I smiled at her and put my finger to my lips. She nodded slightly and stayed still. I looked back to see the guys on their way. _It wouldn't surprise me if he'd called SWAT, Navy, and Jersey PD. Might have even called Danny's sister._

I shuddered at the thought, and walked into the shrubbery and kept low so they wouldn't see me. As I bent down, my knees cracked and I knew the medication was wearing off. I winced at the sickly feeling that ran all through my body.

Ignoring it the best I could, I kept low and kept my eyes on the target. I felt the presence of the guys behind me and quickly looking back, I smiled as I saw Kono behind me. I noticed Chin and Steve giving the other guys what I'm guessing was the plan. She crawled to my side and asked,

"What's happened so far?"

"Danny, as you can see, is unconscious and bleeding badly. Gracie knows we're here but is keeping up the façade very well. And the big brute are the same guys from the airport situation." I explained. She nodded and checked to see if she was fully loaded. The guys that weren't Five-0 were already surrounding the idiotic tweebs that took my Ohana.

"Y'know after this is all over, Steve is gonna kill you." Kono commented. I nodded and smiled a little.

Steve and Chin crawled up beside us and look at me. I nodded at them and Steve growled at me.

"Love you too." I muttered glaring at him.

"3 seconds and we move in." Steve ordered.

"Yah." I answered.

"On it, boss." Kono replied. Chin just nodded.

"1, 2, 3."

"FIVE-0 TASK FORCE! PUT THE GUNS DOWN!" Steve shouted. As we entered the clearing, so did SWAT and a few of our old team members. The Native idiotas jumped and pointed their guns in all directions. The bigger one shot out and Kono shot him in the leg. The slightly shorter but broader one grabbed hold of Grace and put the barrel to her head.

"You guys come closer, she dies, got it?"

"Oh my god, is that what every single bad guy uses when he's out of options? My opinion, bad guys watch _far_ too much Oprah." I chimed.

"Just put the girl down, Keako." Chin reasoned.

He grunted angrily and pushed it further into her skull. She whimpered and tears fell once again in muddy streams. As he looked for an escape through the circle of guns he dropped Grace and shot at us all. It didn't go too well for him because the old boys behind him got a perfect shot at his shoulder, leg, ass, spine, head. Just take your pick because they way he looked afterwards; I doubt they missed any of those places.

Grace was on the ground screaming and Kono and Chin went to grab her and Danny. Steve was already with Keako and I hobbled up to them both.

"Who sent you?"

"I ain't sayin nuthin bruddah." As he gasped for air, I went and kicked him in his snuffed leg. He screamed in pain.

"Don't think that was the right answer, _bruddah._" I sneered.

"Wo… Fat."

"Ahh… he speaks the answers we need to fulfill our journey." I said with fake spiritualities.

"Why would Wo Fat want a life for a life?" Steve asked angrily.

"July 1999… his family home." He gave his last breath and croaked.

Steve sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Care to share the beautiful shit that went off on that date that nearly killed Grace, Danny and me? It better be a damn good story." I raised my voice a little and lifted my eyebrows to the heavens.

"July was when the Navy killed his parents and sister." He sighed.

"And this has links to us _how_?"

"It was our leader that called the hit."

"But we were out on another mission. Not our fault." I answered.

"Anybody our leader favored in a sense ended up a casualty in his war."

"And I never heard about this _why_?"

"You were out on family leave. I wasn't going to make things worse."

"Oh! And by finding this out now just took the edge off of it? _Whisky_ takes the edge off of things, not _12 years_!"

He stood up and walked out to the lot where the paramedics were seeing to Danny and Grace. I walked next to him and sighed.

"I have no family left and apart from Mary, neither do you. So why did they want to take my life when this was about your family?" I asked.

"Because you are my Ohana."

"Yeah, and so are the rest of the team." I stated.

"No Kaila, you are _my_ Ohana."

"_Yes_, thank you for repeating that. Look, I know that we were in the Navy together, did illegal things that we _shall_ not name together, and did some other things together, but why am I so important in this war?"

"Because Mary is known as Mary Masters now, no relation to Steven McGarrett. But you are my next of kin if anything happened to me. You were also on my dads."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold the crazy train and put it in reverse. You're dads? _Do explain_, Steven."

"He couldn't put me because of the problems he'd faced. Y'know with criminals. So he put your dad down and when he got shot, his next of kin was you, hence why you got put on his rap sheet as next of kin." He breathed.

I nodded and made an 'O' shape with my mouth. He smiled that smile that was irresistible to most, and I smirked at him. I'd forgotten about all my pain, what with the whole commotion, and suddenly, my legs gave out a little. Steve noticed and went to stabilize me. I thanked him with a nod and turned around to go back to the parking lot.

"And while we're on that matter, why in hells name did you put _a gun_ to the matrons head, make her drug you up and walk out of the hospital to find an armed kidnapper whilst heavily drugged?" Steve asked, his voice raising a tone second by second.

"Ohana." I stated with a rather bored tone.

"Yeah, we could've dealt with it." He continued.

"No-one gets left behind, or forgotten." I smiled. He understood my meaning but looked at me with a rather blank expression.

"Lilo & Stitch?" I asked, hoping to see some recognition. Nothing, nada, squat.

"Oh _your despicable_. Not only does Grace give me an excuse to watch it, that is the most _AWESOMEIST show EVER!_" I squealed like a five year old.

He laughed at me and I scowled playfully.

"Jumba is awesome, he created Stitch or 626, and Pleakley, he's a one eyed alien who is basically a cross dresser. Lilo is an eight-year-old Hawaiian girl who doesn't fit in and finds a friend in Stitch. And Stitch is the most _awesomeist_ creation known to man. He was designed to destroy big cities but went on to find his cousins, other experiments Jumba had created. Gantu is a fish headed giant freak of nature who is mean and does Hamsterville's evil bidding, and Hamsterville who wants to make all experiments bad. Nani, who's Lilo's older sister and guardian. Cobra Bubbles, man is he awesome, a Social worker but is actually CIA or something like that." I finished my massive description. He smirked at me and I grinned like a Cheshire cat.

I stumbled a little but hid it really well if I do say so my self. As we got to where Grace and Danny were, I saw that Danny had been put on a stretcher and Grace was being checked over. I smiled at Grace and she smiled excitedly. As I got to her, she turned to me,

"Auntie Kaila, this is Patty, she's real nice."

Patty smiled and nodded at me and I the same to her.

"I'm glad to hear it."

"She's been nothing but an angel." Patty said.

"Yeah, shame she ain't with me." I teased.

"Am too."

"Are not."

"Am too." I pulled my tongue out at her, and she scrunched her nose up at me. Patty and I laughed at her expression and the she turned to the ambulance Danny was in.

"Is he going to be okay Auntie Kaila?" She asked, worry laced in her voice. It killed me to know she hurt this much.

"Sure kid, Danno's a tough nut. He has to be with your Uncle Steve." I joked. She laughed a little but her worried expression never left her face.

"Hey Gracie, you wanna ride in Ellie with me to grab something to eat and then go to the hospital?" I asked. She nodded and I gave her the keys to Ellie. Just as I had done that, Patty announced she was done.

"Go get in then and put my iPod on and blast out whatever tune you want." She smiled at me and ran to my car. I watched her with a smile on my face.

"I didn't think she'd smile until her dad woke up. That's until you talked to her." Patty remarked.

"Yeah, she needs someone to trust when she can't talk to her mom or dad. I'm that someone. I'm her security blanket." I replied, and she nodded.

"Kaila, is it?"

"Yeah, that'd be me darlin."

"You don't happen to be Lieutenant Commander Kaila McGarrett that put a gun to Nala's head are you?" She smiled suggestively at me.

"Yeah. But I only had Grace's safety in mind. I'll go and apologize as soon as we get to the hospital. How'd you know anyway?"

"It's all over the hospital. A Navy woman gone rogue, putting guns to nurses heads."

"Ahh. My grandfather always said I'd be famous. Guess he never thought this would be the way." I laughed quietly. Kono and Chin came up to us.

"Hey we're gonna follow Danny to the hospital. Okay?" Chin said.

"Sure guys, we'll meet you there." I smiled.

They headed to the car and followed Danny's ambulance out of the lot and down the road. Patty smiled, her eyes looking through me. When I followed her eyes, I saw Steve stood behind me. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Steve, meet Patty, she looked after Grace."

"Nice to meet you Patty, I'm Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett." They shook hands.

"Lieutenant Commander, nice to meet you." She smiled at him, then at me. I just realized that she was hinting that he was my husband. My eyes widened and I set the record straight.

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. My name is Lieutenant Commander Kaila _Costello_. _Not_ McGarrett." I said quietly.

"Oh. I'm sorry, that's what Nala's patient was called." She stumbled.

"Don't worry darlin, Steven here didn't think that by putting me down as his partner, that he'd be granted access to me straight away, so he said we were married." I pointed at him, smiling.

He chuckled lightly and Patty giggled.

"Ahh. That explains the absence of rings."

I nodded and laughed.

"So yeah, he and I are nothing more than partners." I smiled at her. Steve chuckled and put his arm around my shoulder.

We all kept on chatting about random things when I looked over to see if Gracie was okay. Smiling, I noticed her singing to what I could make out to be Selena Gomez's "Hit the Lights".

Being the OCD freak I am, I checked around to make sure everything was the way it should be. And coincidently I was right. Gut instinct wins again. I instinctively put my hand on my gun and turned to Steve.

"I'll be right back." I said distantly, my eyes glaring at my target.

"What are you gonna do?" He asked me.

"Guy, one o'clock, heading for Ellie."

"Who's Ellie?" Patty asked.

"Kaila's car." Steve muttered.

I heard her 'oh' slightly as I got ready to go and kick this guy's ass to kingdom come.

Marching over, my hand already lifting my gun out my temporary holster I'd borrowed from Danny. This guy had no brains, surely. He got closer to the car, obviously oblivious to his surroundings. I heard Steve's combat boots behind me, coming to my aid. I felt my knee start to give way but covered it up to my best ability. As his hand went to open the driver's door, my gun got raised and aimed right at his head.

"Hey, what'd you think your doin?" I asked, my Italian accent coming through thick and fast.

He stumbled a little, obviously thinking he wouldn't get caught. His eyes went wide and hands went up in the air.

"I wasn't doing anything!" a thick Latino accent emerged.

"Yeah and I'm in a grass skirt and coconut bra right now! Cut the crap Zorro. What were you doing near the car?" I asked.

"Looking at the fine workmanship. Is that a crime?"

"When it's got a kid inside and your hand was getting ready to open up that door, _yes_. That _is_ a problem." I snarled.

He then had the cheek to smirk and turn to Steve.

"Yo man, keep a leash on you lady. She gonna one day bite the wrong mans leg."

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Steve roared.

"What's your name anyway, Casanova?" I asked.

"Alejandro Garcia." He answered smugly.

"One thing I do have to tell ya, you never thief from a thief."

"Oh señora, I'd rather see you in a grass skirt and coconut bra than the outfit your in now." He replied, a slimy look on his face.

"Okay! That's it! Go fly you kite bucko." I replied my voice getting high at the end of every word.

He put his hand on my arm and smirked.

"You'd look even better in a little less too."

My gun got pointed at his head along with Steve's and Steve demanded.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your head."

"Yo man, what I do?"

"You've just commonly assaulted a_ NAVY_ Officer, attempted theft of a car, that may I add is _not_ yours, _hence_ the theft, and whilst attempting to steal the car you can be charged for attempted kidnapping of _a little_ _girl_. You can get locked up for that." Steve replied.

"Patty, call Duke over and tell him to bring a few officers please." I called over. She nodded and went to get him.

Duke and a couple officers came over, read him his rights, chained his ass up and put him in the back of the police car.

I literally had a spaz attack and tried shaking his germs off of my arm once I'd put my gun back in the holster. Leaning against the trunk of Ellie, I literally went boz-eyed. He laughed lightly and out all his weight on his forearms and leaned against Ellie with me.

"Two minutes is all I ask." He replied lightly.

"Huh?" I turned to him, putting my Aviators on top of my head.

"Can't you just stay out of trouble for two minutes?"

"Nope. It ain't in my nature." I smiled, showing all my teeth.

I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and index finger and trailed them down my nose, around my mouth and to my chin. I sighed as I felt my leg start to hurt even more. There goes the medication. Avoiding a situation I really didn't want to endure, I pulled my ass up onto the trunk.

"I'm gonna take Grace to get something to eat, you wanna come with?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna follow you in the Camaro. Danny would kill me if his baby was left in a lot where someone could steal it."

I laughed and nodded.

"Okay darlin, I'll take Grace, you take Danny's second child."

He smirked and agreed.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	4. Grace Drives A Hard Bargain

Turning to get into Ellie, I grabbed hold of the roof to steady myself. Grace was sat there listening to one of her idols new songs. I smiled a little, trying to focus on something other than the pain I was enduring. I opened my door, got inside and stayed in my seat for while. Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on my breathing until the sickness settled and my dizziness had stopped.

"Are you okay?" Grace asked me.

"Of course I am darlin, nothin'll keep me down for long." I chuckled at her.

"Your weird." She giggled.

"Aye that I've been told." I smiled.

A couple of seconds later, I raised my eyebrows, opened my eyes and sat up straight. Putting my foot on the brake, I turned the key in the ignition, and I heard Ellie roar to life.

"That's my girl." I grinned.

"Ready to get this show on the road darlin?" I asked, turning to look at Grace fully.

Nodding, she put on her seatbelt, opened her window and rested her elbow on the ledge.

"Zippy's for that sandwich you love ever so much?" I asked her.

"That's a long way away isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah, but with a little help, I'm sure we could get therein no time." I smiled.

"Okay. Can we get daddy something that'll remind him of Jersey?" She asked.

"Sure kiddo, how about a Pastrami sandwich? You think he'll like that?" I asked.

She nodded and I smiled. Before I pulled out of the lot, I connected my earpiece to my phone, called Steve and waited for him to answer.

"Hey." Came his voice on the other end.

"Hey, listen, we're heading to Zippy's, just letting you know now." I answered, gently pressing down on the accelerator.

"Okay, what are you getting?"

"We're getting Danny a Pastrami sandwich, and me and Grace are gonna have Teriyaki Chicken sandwiches. What do you think Kono and Chin would want to eat?"

"I know Kono lives on their Tuna Salad and Chin likes Portuguese Bean Soup." He answered.

"Sweet, Gracie can you write that down for me on the notepad in the glove box for me?" She nodded and wrote down our orders and I told her Chin and Kono's order.

"What are you having?" I asked.

"Probably the Oriental Chicken Salad." He answered.

"One Oriental Chicken Salad darlin." I told Grace.

"How do you spell oriental?" She asked me.

"O-R-I-E-N-T-A-L." I spelt.

"Okay." She smiled.

"We're only a couple of minutes away anyway. See ya there." I answered.

"See ya their Costello, and don't do anything stupid."

"I can't promise anything." I smiled, pressing the button on my earpiece to turn off the call.

As I turned onto South King Street, I heard the Camaro get up my ass. Smiling, I revved Ellie's engine so she intimidated. I looked out of m rear view mirror to see Steve smiling and revving the Camaro's engine. I smiled back and we turned into Zippy's.

I went and parked up in a free space and Steve did the same. Grace took of her seatbelt and kept the list clutched in her little hand. I opened my door and stepped out, my balance failing me miserably. I clutched to the roof of Ellie and the top of the doorframe. Letting out a breath I didn't know I'd held, I cracked open my eyes.

Grace was in front of me smiling. I smiled back and closed the door. Locking Ellie up, Grace raised her eyebrow at me, crossed her arms and was tapping her foot.

"What?" I asked her.

"You should be with Danno, in hospital, older than me young lady." She stated. I raised my eyebrow and smirked at her.

"Oh really?" I asked with amusement clearly laced in my voice.

"Mhmm. I think I should tell Uncle Steve."

"Well, how's about this, you keep your yapper shut about me being in pain, and I get you a dessert?" I wagered.

She squinted her eyes, tilted her head and replied,

"What kind?" she said suspiciously.

"Jello parfait, your mother would kill me if I gave you too much sugar."

"Make it a pudding parfait, and you gotta deal." She smiled sweetly.

"You drive a hard bargain kid, but you gotta deal." I smiled. She nodded her head and pretended to throw away her key that she'd just locked her lips with.

"You might have to be my walking stick for a bit though kiddo."

"As long as I get my dessert, I don't mind." I laughed at her comment and soon I started wondering where Steve was.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	5. Her Face Is Like Watching A Movie

We walked, well _Grace_ walked, and I hobbled to see where Steve was. Not seeing him, I picked Grace up and put her on the trunk of Ellie.

"Can you see him?" I asked her. She looked around and shook her head.

"I can see daddy's car, but not Unc- oh wait, there he is!" She squealed, jumping up and down slightly on the trunk. I cringed at the fact she was jumping on Ellie.

"Okay, let's get you down off of Ellie, and go to find Uncle Steve." I grabbed her hand and she jumped from Ellie. Putting my arm around her she put her arm around my waist. We walked over to Steve, who just happened to be talking to Catherine. Not that I don't like her, I just don't like the whole when they talk, no one else can intervene. I rolled my eyes and plastered on my 'I'll pretend to like you' smile.

As we approached them, Steve turned to me and smiled.

"Hey Costello, this is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins. Catherine, this is Lieutenant Commander Kaila Costello."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." She smiled, holding her hand out.

"You too." I smiled in a sickly sweet fashion, and shook her hand.

"So, is this your daughter?" she asked, motioning to Grace.

"No, I'm her auntie." I smiled.

"Sorry." She answered sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm Grace, and this is my Auntie Kaila and my Uncle Steve." Grace beamed. _How much do I love this kid? You get an extra scoop of ice cream for that punch in the gut. _

I watched as Catherine paled a little. _Hehee, I love you Gracey baby._ I smirked a little but pulled it back when I saw Steve looking at me.

"So, are you two dating?" She asked.

"No, just partners." I smiled, satisfied in watching her squirm.

Watching her face was like watching a movie. Her face was obviously relieved.

"How about you two?" I asked.

"Oh- erm..." She stumbled.

"We're _friends_." Steve answered, glaring at me.

"Ah, well me and Grace are gonna go get the food. I'll order for you and bring it out. You want me to get you anything?" I asked Catherine, being as pleasant as possible.

"No, I just ate."

"Okay. Come on kid, let's go get your dad his get well soon sandwich."

As we walked away I noticed Grace muttering something under her breath.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I don't think she likes you."

"Well that's her problem, not ours, so no worrying about Catherine, capishe?"

"Capishe."

Walking into Zippy's I walked up to the counter. Leon, an old friend from high school, was serving. Grace held onto the piece of paper as if it was her life.

"Kaila?" He asked, obviously shocked.

"Hey Leon, how you been?"

"Good, how about you?"

"Not too bad, what happened to being a billionaire with a hot Russian girlfriend?" I smirked.

"I had a set back. My dad cut me off."

"Ah, you mean that money you never had got stopped?"

"Exactly that." He smiled.

"So before I lose my job, can I take your order?" He smiled.

"Yeah, one Pastrami Sandwich, two Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches, three Tuna Salads, a Portuguese Bean Soup, an Oriental Chicken Salad and a Pudding Parfait for the little blackmailer here please."

"Sure, who are you feeding, the Army?"

"No, I was in the Navy, but this trip is for the team."

"The team?"

"Yeah, the Five-0 task force. I work with them."

"Wow, you really did upgrade from wanting to be a riding instructor." He smirked.

"Yep."

"So here's your order. Listen, I'm now on my break, you mind having a little catch up?" He asked.

"Sure but I don't have long, one of the guys is in hospital."

"How about we talk on the way to your car?"

"Sure. Come on Gracey, let's get your dad his sandwich."

Walking back to my car with Leon holding the bag, we talked about random things, from high school to families.

"So, is she yours?" He asked, pointing to Grace.

"No, just her unbiological Auntie."

"Ah. That's why your body hasn't changed since high school."

"I'll let that slide and take it as a compliment." I scowled playfully.

"I didn't mean it any other way." He smiled.

Walking back Grace turned to me and patted my waist.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Why is Uncle Steve kissing her?" She scowled.

I looked over to see Steve kissing the face off of Catherine. I gagged a little and turned to Grace.

"Well, I guess they really like each other darlin."

"But Auntie Kaila, you two really like each other but you don't kiss." She made an upset face and I cuddled her. She started to cry so I held her tighter. I turned my head to Leon and he gave me a sympathetic look.

"Sorry Leon, maybe we could meet up another time, when you're off work?"

"Yeah, of course. How about this Saturday?" He asked.

"Sure. I'll be free."

"How about we meet at Kamekona's at 12?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"See ya then." He smiled, put down the bag of food next to my feet and turned to go back inside.

I continued to rub Grace's back as she sobbed. I pulled away so I could look her in the eye.

"What's brought all this on?" I asked, my voice both confused and comforting.

"I don't want you and Uncle Steve to be like mommy and Danno." I sighed, my guilt taking over me.

"Baby we're not together like your mommy and daddy were."

"Yeah but it took mommy and daddy forever to start being nice to each other." She cried once again.

"Okay, I'll talk to Uncle Steve before we go to see Danno and we'll get this sorted out. You with me?" I smiled.

She nodded, sniffed and wiped her eyes. I smiled at her and used my thumbs to wipe her tears. I got up from my crouched position and held her hand. Picking up the bag of food, we slowly headed over to Steve, who was just saying goodbye to Catherine. He smiled at her and turned to us. Honestly, I was less then enthusiastic about the whole 'let's be nice to Catherine'.

He noticed Grace's face, all patchy from her tears and his smile dropped. He crouched down to Grace's level.

"Sweetie, what's happened?" He asked. That was probably the worst thing he could do. She set off crying and turned into my hip. I put my hand on her head and stroked her hair.

Looking up at me, he stood back up and asked,

"What wrong? Why's she crying?"

"She's worried because she doesn't want her _auntie and uncle_ turning out like her _mom and dad_. She's worried we'll fall out and not talk to each other properly for a long time." I explained.

He looked at me with both confusion and shock written clearly upon his face. He did his usual, turn to the side with his hands behind his head, turn back and run them over his face. He looked at me square in the face, blew out a sigh and got back down to Grace's level.

"Hey, Gracie, sweetie?" He tried. She turned her head to look at him.

"Me and your Auntie Kaila, we're always gonna fight, but in the end we make up, and we'll always love you, no matter what, isn't that right Kaila?" He replied.

"Mhmm." I smiled down at her.

"But you were kissing Catherine." She mumbled.

He looked at me for help but I shook my head. _Uh-uh oh no._ _Your bed bub, you lie in it._

"Because we like each other." He offered.

"Daddy and his car like each other, but they don't kiss." She stated.

_She had a point_. I smirked a little at her comment. It was true. Danny _did_ like his car. Whilst Steve was pathetically trying to get out of this hole he'd made, which was getting deeper by the second, I decided I would throw him a ladder and help him escape.

"Hey darlin, the food is gonna be cold by the time we get there and your Pudding won't be worth eating. And I'm sure Danno is wondering where you are." She gasped and started mumbling about how Danno would be mad if his sandwich wasn't warm.

She turned to look at Ellie and Steve mouthed 'thank you'. I shook my head and mouthed 'we have to talk'. He nodded and got into the Camaro.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	6. I Have A Pack Mule

We headed to Ellie and I got out Grace's pudding for her to eat on the way. Grabbing the spoon I'd handed her, she thanked me and started eating.

Putting my key in the ignition, Ellie roared to life. Before pulling out, I grabbed my iPod, and turned to Grace.

"What do you want on?"

"Something good." She mumbled, food filling her mouth.

"How about Selena Gomez, you like her."

"Hit the Lights?" She perked up.

"That'd be the one." I smiled, thankful that Selena Gomez could cheer my little Gracie up.

Humming along to the tune, I pulled out of the lot and set off to Straub Clinic and Hospital. I noticed that Steve had already pulled out and gone. Typical of the male species, can't even face the wrath of a little girl. I sighed and kept driving.

My pain had returned ten fold but decided not to say anything as we entered the entrance. We walked up to the receptionist, who was looking far too chipper for my personal taste.

"Hi, how can I help?"

"We're looking for Detective Daniel Williams, he came in about 65 minutes ago with multiple lacerations and unconsciousness."

"Room 401, on the fifth floor." She smiled.

"Thanks." I smiled.

We walked to the elevator, pressed for the fifth floor and waited. It came within a couple of seconds and we entered.

"Fifth floor is it?" An elderly woman asked.

"Yes ma'am." I smiled. She beamed.

"Oh Bert, did you hear that? She called me ma'am. Such a polite young lady." She told her husband. Her husband chuckled and shook his head.

"Annie, not every young person is impolite." I chuckled at them. I did wonder that if I got married, if I'd be like that with my husband in many years to come.

"My apologies dear, but are those dog tags around your neck?" He asked.

"Yes sir."

"What is your profession?"

"Navy sir. Lieutenant Commander Kaila Costello, six years in the Navy." I answered proudly. Both Annie and he beamed.

"How wonderful! Bert was in the Navy, weren't you Bert?"

"Yes ma'am. Commander Bernard Silver, Navy veteran for twenty years." he explained proudly.

"You know, that's how Bert and I met. He was stationed here in Hawaii, and I was on vacation with my parents. Gosh, it was 1951 and I was only seventeen. Bert here was twenty-one. We met at a dance on the beach, and fell in love instantly." Her eyes were glassy, the memories blatantly being happy.

The elevator stopped as another person entered.

"Oh Annie, the young lady doesn't need to hear our tales." He scolded.

"Just because you are a man and don't share your feelings, doesn't mean us women have to do the same. Isn't that right girls?"

"Yes ma'am." I smiled at her.

"And who's this little treasure?" Annie asked Grace.

"I'm Grace." She mumbled, a little shy.

"Is she your daughter?" Bert asked.

"No sir, unbiological niece. In fact we're here to see her daddy now, aren't we?" I asked. Grace nodded and Annie gasped.

"He's a detective, Danno and me were kidnapped by bad men." Grace answered.

"How terrible." Annie declared.

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, our stop.

"Ma'am, Commander Silver, as much as I'd love to chat, we must see her father." I smiled apologetically.

"Oh of course. Give him our best, won't you dear?" Annie asked.

"Yes ma'am. Goodbye to you both." I waved as the elevator doors closed.

Blowing out a breath, Grace giggled.

"What?" I asked, smiling.

"They were funny."

"I know. Well here's your dads room." We knocked and Steve answered. He smiled and let us in. Walking in unsteadily, I placed the food on the table. Danny was groggy but managed to say,

"Hey monkey!"

"Danno! I thought you weren't coming back." She cried.

"Of course I was coming back. Heaven would be no fun without you." I smiled as I watched them hug.

Turning around, I opened the bag and passed everything out.

"I got, three tuna salads for Rachel, Kono and Jenna, a Portuguese bean soup for Chin, oriental chicken salad for Steven, two Teriyaki Chickens for me and Grace, and a Pastrami sandwich for the sick one. A little something to remind you of Jersey." I smiled.

They all thanked me and we sat down to eat. Grace and Danny ate on the bed, Kono and Steve were eating on the table, Chin was stood up drinking his soup and I was sat on the floor, cross-legged eating my sandwich. Considering we were always chatty, this was the longest we'd ever been silent.

Whilst eating my sandwich, I felt a sudden rush of sickness wash over me. The adrenaline of today was starting to wear off. I put my sandwich down, swallowed the bite that was in my mouth and put my head back against the wall.

"You okay Kaila?" Jenna asked me.

"Yeah. Just give me a minute."

"After you've eaten that, your getting your ass back in bed." Steve answered.

"To hell I am." I snapped.

"Considering you should be there right now, I think it's the logical option." Chin replied. I cracked open my eye and sighed,

"Fine." I muttered.

"You'll listen to him, but not me?" Steve scoffed.

"Considering you and I are _this_ close to a blow up, I wouldn't listen to you even if my life depended on it." I stated.

"Aunty Kaila, please don't fight with Uncle Steve, you promised." Grace pleaded.

"Your right Grace, we shouldn't. I'm sorry baby." I said to her.

"It's okay." She smiled.

I placed my sandwich back in the wrapping it came in, sat up properly and asked for Danny to call the nurse. He pressed the button and guess who walked in? Nala.

"Yes Detective Williams?" She asked.

"Actually darlin, it's me who called for you. In fact you're just the nurse I want to see." I smiled.

"Ah, Lieutenant, what can I do for you?" She smiled.

"Firstly, I'm _really_ sorry, and secondly, your magic is wearing off and I may have about two minutes before I'm in absolute agony." I answered, a smile still painted on my face.

"Give me a second and I'll get you a chair." She answered.

"I'll be okay to walk, plus I have a pack mule who can carry me." I said, pointing to Steve. She giggled and waited for me to get up. I pulled myself up and steadily made it to the door. Steve and Chin came to my aid as I fell slightly.

"Steady there, or you'll be more beaten up than Danny." Chin joked. I laughed and nodded my head.

"Chin, you go finish eating, I was done anyway. Kaila, I'm not arguing, you're getting carried by me to your bed."

"But-"

"_Kaila._" He warned.

"Fine." I pouted as he picked me up bridal style.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	7. SHE'S ALIVE!

Walking down the hallway, we followed Nala around the twists and turns.

"This is embarrassing." I muttered.

"I don't see why, we are married after all."

"Oh give it up McGarrett. If we were married, you'd be classed as cheating on me right about now." I pointed out.

"And then you'd have every right to beat the crap out of me." He smirked.

"Good point, looks like we're married. Get ready because once I'm out of the bed and back on my feet, you're a dead Commander walking." I challenged. He laughed at that, and asked,

"So we're good then?"

"We always were. But we still need to talk about the situation with Grace." I slurred, my body finally giving into the pain.

We eventually stopped at my bed, and Nala pulled the sheets back and Steve placed me down. I felt my boots being pulled off and my jacket being unzipped.

"Pervert." I muttered to Steve, knowing his scent was obviously not Chanel No. 5. He chuckled and undid my jacket all the way down.

I felt him gently pulling my arms out and lifting me up whilst Nala pulled it from under me. I felt my tank being pulled up and over my head too. Then, I felt a cold cotton hospital dress being put over me. I could feel my belt being undone and the button on my jeans being unfastened. I could tell it was Nala, not only because she was being delicate but also Steve had his hand on mine.

"So, when are you gonna break it to Catherine that we're married?" I asked, half asleep.

"Well I was planning on having an extra marital affair until further notice." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Naughty husband. What am I to do with ya?"

"When your up and fit, you can shoot at me. How's that sound?" he asked quietly.

"Like heaven." I smiled lazily. He laughed and so did Nala. That was the last thing I heard, their laughs.

()()()()()()

"Daniel, could you be a little more sensitive and _not _eat at her bedside?" I heard Rachel's disapproving tone.

"_I _am eating in _sympathy_ for _Kaila, Rachel._" I could tell he was glaring.

"Your eating _malasadas _in sympathy for a woman who eats more healthily than _Steve_?" Kono asked.

"Yes sweetheart, I don't particularly_ like_ the taste of lettuce and other leafy vegetables, _so_ I took the liberty of giving her a _break_ from rabbit food by eating something bad. Hence the fried doughnut impersonators." I laughed a little at that, opened my eyes and turned to where the voices were coming from.

Blinking again to get the sleep out of my eyes, I saw Kono and Jenna sat on the crappy hospital chairs, Danny sat on the edge of my bed, his usual attire of ties and dress pants now covering his form, Rachel stood with her arms folded at the edge of my bed glaring at Danny, and Chin and Steve leaning against the wall. I coughed and they all turned to me.

"SHE'S ALIVE!" Danny shouted quietly, raising his hands up to the heavens, one occupying a malasada. I laughed and kicked him gently in the leg with my foot.

"Of course I am you douche, I don't go down without a fight." I said weakly.

"How are you dear?" Rachel asked, her hand resting on my leg.

"Fine thanks. Where's Gracey?"

"At school."

"Wait, what day is it?" I asked.

"Tuesday, you've been asleep for two days." She answered.

"Shit. Please tell me you've been doing your jobs and not been squatting in the _hospital._" I said, looking at the team with a worried look.

"We plead the fifth?" Kono tried, raising her shoulders.

"Are you insane?" I looked at them and they all shrugged. I looked at the ceiling and raised my hands to the sky,

"Jeez, I ask you once to give me a _break_, yet you can't do that? Tutto ciò che chiedo è una squadra sana, almeno nella testa. Onestamente, sono stato una brava ragazza, mangiare i miei verdi e mai mentito. Certo, se devo io voglio, ma questo non è importante. Il tuo un uomo cattivo, amico mio._." _ I said angrily in Italian.

"Glad to see you're awake Kaila." He smiled.

"Nice to see you guys too. Could you call Nala please?" I asked them. Steve nodded and stood up to go find her. I watched him walk past the window and disappear.

"So what's happened these past couple of days?" I asked, looking at them all. I didn't really mind who answered, just as long as someone did.

"Well, Grace has been splitting her time between you, Danny and school. She came after school straight to Danny's room before he got discharged and then spent her time with you. She read you stories from school, told you what had happened at school, hell she even drew you pictures just incase you couldn't hear her." Rachel answered. I lay there, mouth open from the shear fact that Rachel said _hell._

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You said _hell._ As a swear word. I am shocked." I said groggily. She smirked and stuck her tongue out at me. I glared playfully at her and stuck my tongue out at her. _She was definitely becoming one of us._

"There hasn't been a case. The Governor gave us leave until you and Danny got better because Steve wouldn't have anybody replace you guys even temporarily." Chin answered. I nodded and silently agreed.

"Y'know, Gracie was telling me about when you went to get the food, Catherine was sliming all over Steve." Danny said, looking at me with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.

"Well she said Catherine was being a bitch. Well she didn't cuss but you get the drift." He smiled.

"Yeah, she started crying and said she didn't want me and Steve to be like you and Rachel. I told her we weren't gonna be like that because we weren't together. But she saw Catherine and Steve kissing and got real upset. I saw Catherine look at us before she left and glared at me but I think Gracie thought it was aimed at her." I stated.

"She never told us about tears." Rachel said quietly.

"Darlin, no offence, but Grace see's me as a security blanket. She'll talk to me if she can't talk to you two. If she's a little worried, she'll come tell me about and I'll advise her on the best possible way. I treat her as my own and I'll sure as hell protect her as my own until I die." I answered. They nodded and smiled.

"At least I know that my daughter has someone to go to if she can't talk to us." Rachel answered. As we all sat there chatting, Nala and Steve came in.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	8. Cookies Always Help

"Sorry I was so long, I was at the other side of the hospital treating another patient."

"It's okay darlin, I know you just want to see me in pain, beating me with a stick with a nail in the end." I smirked playfully at her.

"Yes, a big rusty nail." She smiled.

"See the abuse I get whilst here? I'd be so much better off at home with Kono."

"Amen." Kono agreed. I smiled at her and then turned my head back to Nala.

"So, when do I get to go home? As in you actually give _consent_ to my leaving."

"Well by the looks of your results, you seem perfectly fine to be discharged within 24 hours." Nala smiled. I grinned and snuggled back into the pillow.

"I think I could get used to this whole, breakfast in bed, waited on hand and foot." I smirked at Kono. She paled a little, her eyes wide. I watched as she composed herself, and smiled sweetly.

"Anything for you Costello."

"I'm kidding Kono, I'll be fine at home." I smiled at her. She nodded and let out a breath. Nala smiled and put the file back at the front of the bed, then headed out of the room.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"3:00pm. I have to go pick Grace up from school." Rachel answered. As she stood, Danny looked up and said,

"I'll drive you. I need to tell her the good news anyway." He smiled. I noticed Rachel smile at him with that smile that says 'I love you'. I smiled at the thought of those two getting back together. Gracie would be so happy.

They walked out together, Danny with a slight limp and Rachel steadying him. Chin and Steve took over the places that were once occupied by them. Steve sat on my bed and smiled at me. I smiled back as he put a hand on my leg. I watched as Kono and Jenna were looking at some magazine Jenna was holding and looking confused at something in there. All of a sudden I heard a cell ringing. It was Chin's.

"Kelly."

"Yes ma'am, we'll be there right away."

His phone snapped shut as he turned to us.

"Sorry Kaila, Auntie wants Kono and I to introduce Jenna." I saw Jenna pale slightly.

"But, I don't know her." She said quietly.

"_Ergo_ the introduction." Kono answered. They all waved goodbye and left. That left Steven and me. _Oh joy._

"We need to talk." I said.

"Yeah."

"We need to set Grace straight. She thinks that we're together so if she see's either of us dating someone, all hell will break loose."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"How do _I_? No, no, _no Steven. We._ Say it with me, _we._"

"Okay, how do _we_ plan to do this?"

"I opt that we sit her down at you place, give her a cookie and some milk and tell her that we aren't a couple."

"Kaila, she's not _five_."

"No, she eight. And anyway cookies and milk always help."

"True. So when do you wanna do this?" He asked.

"How about this Friday? We've both got the day off and it's after her birthday so we don't ruin her day."

"I agree." He smiled. We talked about everything and nothing until Nala came in.

"Lieutenant Costello, it looks like you can go home today if you wish."

"Sounds good to me Nala." I smiled at her.

"Shall I get your clothes ready or are you going to have someone do it?" She asked me.

"No, I'll do it." Steve answered.

"Okay, I'll leave you two to it." She smiled as she exited.

"I can do it y'know." I murmured.

"Yeah, but I'm here, I might as well do it." He smiled as he passed me my clothes from my bedside cabinet.

Putting on my jeans and boots were the worst. Having to use my shoulder hurt in general so changing was gonna be a mighty big problem for the next 6 to 8 weeks. _Delightful._

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	9. I'm Italian, What'd You Expect?

Nala had left a wheelchair out in the corridor and had probably put my name in big capital letters just to make her point known. _Of all the nurses in Hawaii, I choose the silent but deadly one. Typical._

I set my feet on the floor looked straight ahead. I knew my pupils had dilated because one couldn't stand up without seeing at _least _three Steve's. _I can only just cope with ONE Steven, let alone 3._

I knew my mouth had dropped because when I came back around from la-la land, he was stood there in a stance that look ready to catch me if I fell, or deck me if I attempted to walk out of the hospital on my own.

"You okay there?" he asked me.

"Course I am. What do I look like, a unicorn that's just grown another to legs?" I looked at him with my eyebrow raised.

"You're a strange woman Costello."

"How'd you figure that out?"

"You come at me with a comeback if you're seen as weak."

"I'm the double of my grandmother. She was a strong woman. You'll get used to it." I grinned. He smiled back at me, probably still unsure to whether or not I was on crack.

I watched as he stood up properly, all SEAL like and all. He opened the door of the room we were in and propped his foot up against the bottom, to hold it in place. He held his hands to gesture my motioning out of the door. I smiled sweetly and purposefully coughed _ever so loudly_.

"Huh?"

"I may look like wonder woman, what with being freakin amazing and all, but unless a unicorn shooting rainbows out of it's ass, flies down here and gives me a ride back home, I can't walk very well. I now have a knee that thinks it's on holiday in the Caribbean drinking piña colada's for 6 to 8 weeks." I stated.

"You want me to get a wheelchair for you?"

"Slow down there hon. I said my knee was jacked up, _not my entire lower half._ I just need you as a walking stick."

He smirked a little and held out his hand. Luckily enough, the distance between the door and yours truly was small enough for him to keep his foot on the door and hold his hand out for me to take.

I took his hand and hobbled out of the door. As he closed the door behind us, he held out his arm and I linked. Walking through the corridors, we bumped into Nala who had a very disapproving look on her face.

"Lieutenant Commander Kaila Costello!" She exclaimed.

"Sì?"

"No disrespect, but what are you doing?" She now had her clipboard under her left arm and her arms crossed over her chest. Her graze switched between Steve and me.

"You want the truth?" I asked.

"Please."

"I thought it would be a good idea to let my knee have a little weight on it, so Steve here offered to be my walking stick just in case." I smiled.

"Mh-hm. Is this true Lieutenant McGarrett?"

"Every word ma'am." He nodded.

"Well, unfortunately for you two, you young lady, are leaving this hospital in a wheelchair."

"Nala, my darling, I love you and would do anything to please your beautiful little face. _Except that._" She smiled at me and looked as if she going to let it slide. I was wrong.

"As flattering as you may be, you're having a wheelchair." She ended the conversation.

She then looked at Steve with a determined look on her face.

"If she moves, you tell me. If you don't tell me, I will have your family fortunes served to you on a silver platter." Steve stared at her in shock as she walked off. I turned around and shouted,

"Will you marry me?" She turned and laughed as I grinned like a Cheshire cat. I turned back around and I heard Steve chuckled.

"What?"

"I didn't know you swung that way."

"Sweetheart, when I was 14, my dad asked me about marrying some guy who's dad owned god knows how many shopping malls. It was a family dinner when he asked me so I said very seriously, that I didn't know what team I was batting for and there was this girl at school that I was infatuated with. Holy Sunday too. And anyway, if she doesn't marry me after we're divorced, then I guess she can have second best. That's you by the way."

He stared at me, both in shock and surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"So, you're into women?" He asked.

"Darlin, it doesn't matter to me whether they're a guy, a girl, or a three-legged yeti. If I like them, I'll give it a go. My first kiss was a girl."

"Wow."

"No shit. Now, this is how I got my dad to stop having a heart attack about my revelation. First, we breathe in, and then we breathe out. Here, try it with me. _In, out. In, out._"

"Why would I have a heart attack?"

"Because you didn't know this before, now you do, you're gonna hit the ground running. I'll give you a head start when you drop me at my house."

"Kaila, just because you've tried, and probably succeeded in some things, I'm not gonna toss you to the curb. Jeez, when I was young, I mean before I met you, I did things my dad nearly murdered me for."

"Good to know sweetheart." I smiled. Nala just came to our assistance.

"Now, Lieutenant, sit you're tush down and I'll wheel you out."

"Yes ma'am." I saluted. She laughed and shook her head.

"Hopefully, I won't be seeing you again."

"Jeez sweet-cheeks, if you didn't want a second date, you could have just sent me a text." I smirked as I wiped away my non-existent tear.

"If I were to text you, I'd have to have your number now, wouldn't I?" I could hear her smile in her voice.

I turned around slightly and raised my eyebrow.

"Are you _flirting with me_?"

"Of course not, after all I'm on the job _and_ your husband is here."

"True." I smiled.

"Oh my good Lord! Ladies, if you want flirt at least let me get out of this situation before we get too bold, please!" Steve faked a scoff.

"Oh be quiet Steven! You have an extra marital affair that is on-going, why can't I?"

"Touché." As I turned back around, I smirked.

"Nala's hotter than Catherine anyway." They both laughed and we'd realized we'd got to the entrance.

"Well, here's my stop. Grazie tante Nala." I thanked her, getting up out of the chair.

"You're welcome." Steve had a hold of my bags and went to open the door of his truck and pack my bags in.

"You know Italian?"

"No, but I do know Dean Martin songs."

"My kinda girl." I teased.

"You like him?"

"Yeah, along with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and a few more."

"Wow. Never would have thought that." She smiled.

"I'm Italian, what'd you expect?" I winked at her. She chuckled and went back inside. Steve came and helped me up into it. At this minute in time, I felt like the truck was a monster truck. _Two freakin days and I feel like an ant. Typical._

I put on my belt and Steve started the truck.

"To yours to pick up some clothes, then to mine for dinner. How's that sound?"

"Y'know I'll be okay on my own, right?"

"Yeah right, and let you sneak Nala round every evening? Likely." He teased. I laughed and answered,

"Darn, and here I thought I had a good plan. But seriously, I'll be fine."

"Not taking no for an answer Costello. You're staying with me, end of discussion." He stated with a smile.

"We having steak?" I asked inquisitively.

"Yep." He smirked.

"Then I'm in!" We both laughed and headed back to my place.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :) ALSO, I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT DOESNT LIKE GAY COUPLES. PERSONALLY, I THINK Y'ALL ARE AWESOME!**


	10. Well, This Ought To Be Fun

As we drove through the streets of Honolulu, I started going through everything that had happened the past couple of days. _God, we have a lot of leeway in Hawaii._

Sighing loudly, I rubbed my eyes and ran my hand over my face.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"Nothin darlin, just realized that we're all crackpots that need to be put in an asylum." I said in a matter of fact tone.

"Yes, but we do actually _help _people, so in essence, we're, as you call us, crackpots, but we are crackpots that do _good._" He reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess your right. Plus, I've just got you to admit you're not right in the head." I grinned.

Laughing, he turned on to Kealaolu Avenue and looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking."

"Well darlin, as much as I trust you, can you keep your eyes on the road while you think?"

"I _can multi-task_, y'know."

"Yes my darlin, I _did_ know that. But while I am a passenger in your truck, I would rather you keep your eyeballs on _the road_."

"Okay, but I need to know something." He asked quietly, leaning towards me.

"What?" I asked quietly, watching him _very closely_. He stayed silent for while then came out with,

"Left or right?" He smirked. I raised my eyebrow, opened my mouth to give him a roasting, and then started to laugh mainly through shock. He sat back upright, laughing all the time.

"Left, onto Kahala Avenue!" I laughed slapping him on the arm lightly with my good arm.

"Yes ma'am." As we neared my apartment, I sighed.

"Hey, you can wait here if you wanna, you could even stay in the truck."

"Okay, now you sound like you _want _me to stay in the truck."

"Well, I kinda do." I said a little guiltily.

"If that's what you want Costello. But at least let me help you out."

"Okay. And thanks." I smiled at him. He smiled and pulled into what I call 'the driveway'. I noticed a _very _familiar car parked up. I tried to hold in a very frustrated sigh, but what _did_ come out made me sound like a cat being strangled.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Nothing, just a little pain." I lied smoothly.

"Mhmm." He said, eyes narrowed and a very suspicious look was now gracing his face.

"Come on darlin, my body needs some help unless I let these _fine_ neighbours of mine think you _enjoy_ seeing me in pain." I said with a theatrical exhale to finish.

"Are you pulling a Danny on me?" He asked.

"Hell yeah darlin. Got my best lines from Danny. And Grace of course."

"Of course." Steve agreed.

"Fine, I'm coming your royal bossiness." He laughed. He opened my door and held out his hand. I took it and hopped out of the truck, and when I say hopped, I mean _dropped with grace._

I cringed as a stabbing pain shot through my leg. It knocked me sick for a second but I composed myself before it was noticeable to Steve.

As I stood up straight, I took in my surroundings, the big building I live in, and the palm trees, the leaves of the bushes with a slight tinge of red covering them. _Well, it's closest thing to home that I have these days._

I turned to Steve who was now leaning against his truck, his arms folded, with my bag hanging from his right hand; and a smile still plastered on his face.

"Thanks, but I think I can take it from here. If I'm not down within a half hour, you can come and boot down my door." I smiled politely, ready to deal with my next problem.

"Will you at least tell me which apartment is yours, y'know, just in case?"

"442." I smiled.

"Thank you." I said as I plucked my bag from his held out hand. He nodded and I muttered to myself,

"Well, this ought to be fun."

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :) I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO'S REVIEWED SO FAR, THEY'RE MUCH APPRECIATED.**


	11. How'd You Get In My Apartment?

As I hobbled down the hall to my apartment, I sighed and shook my head. _Honestly, of all the days._ As I got to my door, I pulled out my keys from my jean pocket. It got a little stuck because of my homemade key chain, courtesy of Grace. I laughed as I remembered the day she gave it to me.

**_Six months earlier._**

"_AUNTIE KAILA!" Grace screamed on the top of her voice. We were at the office and me being a paranoid human, my first thought of hearing her scream. Trouble. I quickly jumped up from where I was sitting in Danny's chair and ran to Steve's office where I knew she'd probably have made her claim. Although it was a small distance, I wasn't taking any chances. As I got to the door, I overshot it and had to grab the doorframe to stop myself crashing into her._

"_What's wrong?" I asked, looking around the place, my hand resting on my holster, ready to withdraw my gun and shoot any intruders._

_She giggled at me from Steve's 'comfy swirly chair' and pointed to the items on the__ glossy surface that was his desk. Six handmade key chains, in all different colours. I laughed and shook my head, thankful there wasn't a murderer holding Grace hostage._

"_What's wrong?" She went from giggling at me to worried that something was wrong._

"_Nothing darlin, I just thought there was something wrong."_

"_There is."_

"_Well, what would be wrong sweetie?"_

"_I don't know which one to give to which person."_

"_Well, who are you giving them to?"_

"_Daddy, mommy, Uncle Steve, Auntie Kono, Uncle Chin, and you." She explained, taking in a big breath of air once she'd finished._

"_Well, there all different colors, so why don't we put all the girl colours to one side and the boy colours to another, then we'll go on from there." She nodded at me and I walked over to where she was sat._

"_Commander Grace, what's your strategy?"_

"_I think we should give the blue, green and red to the boys, and the purple, pink and yellow to the girls." I agreed and we split the key chains to boys and girls._

"_What's your mommas favorite colour out of pink, purple and yellow?"_

"_Pink." We moved the pink and put it in Rachel's place._

"_I think yellow would look good with Kono's surfboard, don't you?"_

"_Yeah, so yellow can go to Auntie Kono and you can have the purple one."_

"_I think that's a good plan. Purple has always been my favorite color." We moved yellow to Kono's spot and she gave me mine in my hand._

"_Thank you darlin. I'll put it on when we've done the boys key chains. So what's your dad's favorite color?"_

"_Green, because was the color of his first car."_

"_Really? Well I never knew that. So we'll put the green one with your mom's then."_

"_What about Chin?"_

"_Red, because he always wears those shirts with lots of color."_

"_Red it is. We'll put that with Auntie Kono's."_

"_I think Steve would love the blue one, because of the Navy. What do you think?" I asked her._

"_Yeah, like the ocean."_

"_That's right sweetie." I put the blue one next to mine and just as we'd grouped them together, they all came in from their last case._

"_Hey, you guys all okay?" I asked them._

"_Yeah, we put the guy away. Did you finish that paper work that the Governor asked for?" Steve asked._

"_Yeah, I finished a while ago. Danny, I used your desk because you I could keep an eye on Grace."_

"_Yeah, that's fine. Thanks for looking after her today."_

"_No worries, I was a little surprised considering it's Friday and she wasn't with Rachel, but I don't mind. She's used her free time to do a good thing, haven't you darlin?" I asked her. She nodded and smiled at them all._

"_Oh, and what would that be Monkey?" He asked, smiling down at his daughter. _

"_I made key chains for all of you. Do you wanna see them?" She smiled proudly._

"_Yeah." The all echoed._

_She trotted to Steve's desk and we all followed. She sat on the chair and handed them out._

"_This green one's for you Danno, like your first car." She said as she passed the green key chain to Danny._

"_Aw thanks Monkey, I didn't think you'd remember." He said, and gave her a tight squeeze._

"_Of course I did daddy. Gosh, anyway these two are for you two. The yellow one is yours Auntie Kono because it goes with your surfboard and the red one's for you Uncle Chin because of your shirts." She said to Chin and Kono as she passed them their key chains. They both laughed at her comment on his shirts and thanked her with a hug._

"_The blue one's for you Uncle Steve because you're in the Navy and you love the ocean." Steve was given his key chain and he thanked her and gave her a hug._

"_Here you go Auntie Kaila, here's your purple one."_

"_Thank you." I smiled at her. She beamed back at me and grabbed the pink one and placed it in her backpack._

"_Hey honey, who's the pink one for?" Danny asked._

"_Mommy. She likes pink a lot." She answered. Danny nodded and pulled out his car keys. He slid the key chain onto the metal ring and let it dangle in front of him._

"_Perfect fit." He smiled. We all put our key chains on our sets of keys. Chin on his house key, Kono on her car keys, Steve on his house key, and I slid mine onto my house key._

"_I think we'll all treasure these. So, who's for shave ice?" I asked. We all agreed and headed out to our cars._

"Good times." I murmured to myself. I placed the key in the lock and with a twist of my hand I opened my apartment door. I dumped my bag in the hallway and closed the door behind me. I slipped my key back in my pocket and walked into the living room. I noticed there was a Gucci handbag on my coffee table and a pair of Chanel sunglasses next to them. _Considering we all came from a very poor but happy family, she didn't do too bad for herself._

I knew exactly where she'd be, so I walked out onto my little balcony, to see her sat with her back to me on one of the little stools I got in Singapore. I smiled a little but knew she'd only be here if something was wrong. I coughed and she turned around, at first a little scared, and then happy to see me.

"Hey Kaila, how are you?" She smiled.

"Why are you here?" I asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Well that's a nice way to treat your cousin. I'm being sarcastic by the way." She glared.

"I figured as much. Why are you here Magdalena?" I asked. I hobbled into the living room and sat down on my couch. I knew she'd follow me in. She might be a little slow in the old brain, but not _that _slow.

"I need a little help." She said, laughing slightly.

"What kind of help?"

"I need a place to stay." She smiled nervously.

"And why aren't you asking Uncle Dean and Auntie Sofia this?" I asked her. _She's hiding something._

"They kicked me out." I sighed and got up. I went to my bedroom, noticing her suitcase was already on the bed. I opened my wardrobe, and grabbing a bag, I started filling it with clothes I needed.

"And why aren't you living with your husband. He's pretty nice. What was his name again, Tony or Tommy? Something like that." I asked her.

"Theodore _actually._ And we split up for your information." She said. I knew she had her arms folded because she does the exact same pose as my sister, Rosetta. When she's mad, she pops the left hip a little, folds her arms and pouts like there's no tomorrow.

"Oh, this is what, the twentieth time this last six months?" I said, sarcasm dripping from my tongue.

"_No._ But when I got home to mom and dad's house, they found a little something in my bag." At that last sentence, I stopped in my tracks.

"What did they find?"

"Oh just my-"

"What. Did. They find. Magdalena?" I admit, I was a little harsh but hey, we're family.

"Coke." She whispered.

"Please tell me Coke as in the drink." I asked, rubbing my hand over my face.

"I wish."

"Maggie, your what 24? You shouldn't be messing around with that stuff. Or any stuff for that matter. I highly disagree with your drinking habits, but jeez, Coke? I know you're a little stupido at times, but I thought you had more sense than to take _that._"

"I know, okay? I was stupid but I really need a place to stay."

"So you thought you'd fly _all _the way to Hawaii from Argentina, just so you could have a place to stay?"

She nodded and I laughed at her idiocy. Granted, I wasn't the best academically but if I wasn't in the Navy from eighteen and had found a loving man than respected me and treat me like a princess every hour of the day, I wouldn't be stupid enough to cheat on him.

I zipped up my bag and took it to the door. I dropped it and then went back to the couch. I sat down and lifted my leg onto the coffee table, being mindful that my knee was still angry.

"So how's the Navy life?" She asked while checking her makeup.

"Well, I'm not actually in the Navy anymore. After the last tour, I got honorably discharged."

"Why?"

"I broke my back. And at the time, they thought I wouldn't be able to walk again, so the Navy decided that it would be best to honorably discharge me so I didn't just get kicked out." I explained.

"Oh, so what are you doing now?"

"I'm a cop."

"So do you have hunky men to work with? I might sign up."

"Maggie, this isn't a movie, I work every single day and have probably put my ass in the firing line more than once." She pouted and I was about to say something when I heard a knock on the door.

I was about to get up, when I noticed Maggie was already at the door.

"Ooh, he's a hunky one, I'll let him in."

"Magdalena, what does he look like?" I asked, in fear it could be someone who doesn't like me and potentially wanted to kill me.

"Tall, dark haired, wearing cargo pants and he's got a gun."

"That'll be Steve. You can let him in."

She did her little 'mhmm' and opened the door.

"Hi, I'm sorry ma'am, I must have the wrong apartment. Do you know where I can find Kaila Costello?" I heard Steve say _ever_ so politely. I laughed a little a Maggie giggled flirtatiously.

"Yes sir, right this way." _My lord, she's a little flirt._

"Thank you ma'am." I heard the smile in Steve's voice and got a little peeved. _Wait, why am I peeved? It's Maggie we're talking about. He wouldn't go for her. And even if he does, it's not my problem. _I realized I sounded completely jealous, but if asked, I would totally deny it.

"Hey Kaila, I know it's only been 25 minutes but I was a little worried." He smiled a little shyly and absently scratched the back of his neck.

"No worries Steve. Anyway, Steve, this is my cousin Magdalena, Magdalena this is my boss Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett." They shook hands and I watched as she flipped her hair and stood up even straighter to accentuate her assets.

"If I'd have known you shared your apartment, I would never have come up to look for you." He stated.

"If _I'd_ have known I shared my apartment, I would have just gone straight to yours." I said bluntly.

"Oh, my cousin, always the kidder." She laughed as she put her arms around me.

"So, er, you ready to go?" Steve asked me.

"Yeah, I'll just grab my bag." I said as I got up off of the couch.

"Where are you going?" Maggie asked us.

"To my house, I'm looking after Kaila. Doctor's orders." He smiled.

"Oh, so you're dating?" She asked.

"No, just colleagues." He informed. Somehow, I had a twinge in my gut, and I wasn't sure exactly what it was. I let it slide and walked back into the room.

"Wait, hold up. Doctor's orders, why what happened?" She asked, obviously concerned.

"Well Maggie, I've limped all the time I've been here, and just to clarify, I was shot in the shoulder and have a jacked up knee." I answered in a aggravated, yet bored tone.

"Oh, I didn't notice. Sorry Kaila." She apologized.

"Hey, no sweat. Your familia, if I can't let you off the hook for that, what else is left of this world?" I smiled.

"Well, we oughta get going, Maggie, you can stay here seeing as though you've already brought everything here. No point in you going to a hotel now. No wild parties, no smoking and no guys, _please_. Now Steve, if you would be so kind, let's go." I said, motioning to the door.

"Well, don't you wanna have something to eat at my place?" He asked her.

"No, no, she's fine, aren't you Magdalena, yep, look she's fine. Let's go." I said quickly.

"Actually, I'd love to come for dinner." She smiled sweetly.

"Well then, that's settled." He smiled at her and she put on her sunglasses and grabbed her bag.

"I'll follow you in my car." She said.

"Sure, it'll let me get to know Kaila's family a little better."

"I doubt you'll like what you find darlin." He laughed and we all exited my apartment.

Walking down the hallway, I realized something.

"Hey Maggie, how'd you get in my apartment?"

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :) I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO'S REVIEWED SO FAR, THEY'RE MUCH APPRECIATED.**


	12. Lord, Give Me Strength!

As we walked to the cars, I watched as Maggie strayed behind a little. _Checking out his behind. Same old Magdalena._ I smiled a little, as I knew she hadn't changed.

"So, as you can see, Steve's truck, is the big black one behind your very nice _expensive, _owned by Timmy might I add, Triumph Spitfire 1500. 1493 cc."

"_It's Theodore._ And I honestly don't even _like_ the car. Nobody looks at me in it. Except old men and that's just creepy." She made a face and shuddered. _Lord, give me strength!_

"Well I might have to call _Theodore_, so he can hook me up with this sweet hunk of metal." I smiled like a kid in a candy store as I touched the _very_ gorgeous car.

"Hunk of _junk_ more like." She scoffed.

"My Lord, I could slap you right about now! You know nothing about classics, and knowing you, you'd be happy with Barbie car."

"I would not! I'd want one of those pink convertibles." _My Lord, please shoot me._

"Also known as a Barbie car my darling cousin. I _swear_ Uncle Dean and Auntie Sofia found you on the sidewalk next to a big angry Rottweiler." I told her.

She laughed nervously and pulled out her keys. I watched as Steve stood there, looking _ever_ so uncomfortable at the fact my cousin was so blonde. _At least I hope that's why he's uncomfortable. _He was carrying my bag over his shoulder and his hands were in his pockets.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked quietly, moving closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired that's all." He explained.

"Hey, y'know we're not at your truck yet. You can withdraw your invitation to the food and the care, I don't mind." I said, placing my hand on his arm.

"I said I was tired, as in my emotions and body. I don't mean I'm tired enough to look after you."

"Good, y'know why?" I smiled.

"Why?"

"Because your cooking steak, and honey, if that was _the only_ quality you have, I'd marry you right now." I smiled. He smiled and laughed as he opened my door and helped me in. I thanked him and he closed my door and went around to the driver's side.

He got in and started the truck up. I heard Maggie's car start up and I sighed.

"What's with the sighing?" He asked me, a frown gracing his face.

"Just, trust me on this. If nothing else just trust me on _this_."

"Okay, but if she's gonna be in my house, I kinda need to know what her background is."

"First of all, _you_ invited her. Secondly, you pretty much know it all." I replied.

"How much is pretty much?" I asked, probably scared of the response.

"About five percent, give or take." I said.

As we drove through the streets, I looked through the side mirror, only to see Maggie on the phone, talking to someone _very_ impolitely.

"Sweet Mother Mercy from Hoboken New Jersey." I murmured. _Man, have I woken up now._

"What?" Steve asked me.

"Uh… never mind. Just keep driving darlin. I gotta make a quick phone call." I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a very old number. _Man I hope they still have this number. _

"_Hello?"_

"Hey is this Dean Bianchi?"

"_It sure is. And whom am I speaking to?"_

"Yeah, that's great. It's Kaila Costello, your brother Frankie's daughter."

"_Kaila? Good Lord, it's nice to hear your voice. How have you been sweetie?"_

"I've been fine Uncle Dean. I'm actually calling to see how Magdalena is." I was keeping an eye on her through the mirror. I noticed Steve frown and mouth 'what' to me. I shook my head and put my finger to my lips.

"_Of course darling, she's at the Charity Gala with Theodore."_

"Gala huh? And Uncle Dean, where might this Charity Gala be held?"

"_Italy. That's why she took a flight out 3 days ago."_

"She took a flight out to Italy three days ago huh?"

"_Why do you ask?"_

"You might want to sit down for this. The both of you."

"_Why Kaila, what's the matter?" _I heard my Auntie say.

"It's just, she's not in Italy."

"_Well, if she's not in Italy, where is she?"_

"Behind me, in her car, without Theodore. And Auntie, she isn't at any Gala."

"_Well, why would she be in Hawaii?"_

"You kicked her out, didn't you?"

"_Kicked her out, why would we do that?"_

"You caught her with coke. Didn't you?"

"_Coke, of course not. I know she doesn't drink that thing."_

"No, Auntie Sofia, the coke as in- y'know what, I must be wrong. She looks the spitting image of her, that's all. Sorry to bother you two."

"_Oh… okay. No worries darling. But do get in touch soon. We haven't spoken in months."_

"Yes ma'am. And please get in touch with my ma. Ever since mio padre died, she's been going into a frenzy of cleaning and cooking for the eight children that have left home." I laughed.

"_Of course darling. Enjoy your Hawaiian time."_

"Thank you, love you both. Bye."

"_You too sweetie. Goodbye."_ And with that, I ended the phone call.

A few minutes of silence passed by, until Steve turned to me and smiled.

"And er… what was that?" He asked.

"Nothing, just a little family situation, that's all."

"If you say so."

"Yes I do darlin, glad we cleared that up." I smiled.

We got to Steve's place and Maggie pulled in just after us. He got out and I opened my door and slid out.

"You could have waited."

"And I could have waited a couple more weeks in the womb, but like the doctor told my mother, I wanted to see the world earlier than planned." I scowled, smirking a little bit just so he knew I wasn't serious.

"Too much info Kaila." He grimaced. I laughed as he held onto my bag, _again._

"Gimme." I said motioning for my bag.

"No, I don't mind."

"Nuh–uh darlin, gimme my bag. I feel useless doing nothing."

"No."

"Please?" I whined like a child.

"God, you're worse than Grace sometimes."

"And where'd you think she got her best work from? I assure you she didn't get it from the back of a cereal box." I smiled at him, with my eyebrow raised. Laughing, he pulled the keys from his pocket, put the key in the lock, and opened the door wide. I nodded and I walked in.

"Where can I put my bag?" I asked him, looking around the room.

"Give it here, I'll take it upstairs." I held out his hand.

"Nah darlin, I'll do it, I don't mind."

"Kaila, please just let me take care of you. I won't lace your food with your drugs or anything else if you let me take care of you." His voice was rising slightly as he finished his sentence. I laughed silently, put my head down and handed my bag to him.

"See, I can make you do anything I want just by talking to you. Power of persuasion Kaila, works _every_ time." He was now stood about a foot away from me, his head hanging down and his breath tickling my neck. I put my hands on his chest and smiled lazily,

"Ok big boy, off you trot. Don't want my sister getting the wrong idea about us."

"And what would that be?"

"_That_ would be the thing we don't want people thinking."

"You mean us dating?"

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" I smiled. Smiling back, he made his way upstairs. I laughed to myself quietly and looked out onto where the cars were parked.

I frowned, mainly at the _lack _of Maggie's presence, and because of the _amazing _cousin I am, I hobbled outside to see if I could see her. Unfortunately, I heard her before I saw her.

"No, you don't understand, I. Am. Dealing with it. Give me twenty four hours and it'll be done!" I walked a little further, to see her crouched behind the boot of her car, one finger in one ear to drown out sound,the other ear covered by her cell phone. _Not that there is any sound other than the ocean._ Honestly, she looked like my little brother back when he was four; hiding behind the couch after dad caught him with the cookie jar half empty. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

"_Son! I've told you a million times, if your mother catches you eating a cookie, I get the dishcloth around my head." My father smiled down over George, my brother who had his hand stuck in the cookie jar. He was stood on all the phone books and cookbooks he could manage to get up on the chair. He looked like a deer in headlights to start with, but then came the mischevious smile that I'd taught him._

"_Yeah daddy, you love me nuf to take the dishclot." _

"_Dish- cloth. T, H."_

"_Dishclof"_

"_Close enough son, close enough." He smiled, patting his head and lifting him off of the chair. Our father was easily 6'4, so a four-year-old boy was obviously no match._

"_Papa, NO!" He screamed playfully, giggles slipping into his scream. He was holding onto the chair while my dad was had hold of his legs gently pulling. I watched from the doorway, laughing at the scene in front of me._

_They both turned to me, and as I walked forward, I watched George's eyes open wide. I chuckled evilly and put my hands out as if to grab him. His head went back and he screamed with all his might. We both grabbed hold of him and pried him from the chair._

"_I'M GONNA DIE!"_

"_Yeah you are Georgie!" I screamed._

"_Your both gonna die you little monkeys!" Our father laughed. _

_George and I stopped, looked at our father then ran around the kitchen. He eventually grabbed us both, and put us over his shoulder._

"_Now I've got you, what should I do with you?" He smiled._

"_Put us down, give us a cookie then let us watch T.V?" I asked._

"_For a ten year old, your smarter than I ever was." My father said._

"_Yup, took ma's brains and your attitude papa." _

"_That you did my darling."_

"_So, wadaya say?" I asked, playing with his scruffy graying hair._

"_Yeah, whad say papa?"_

"_Why don't we clean up the mess we made, then have a cookie, a glass of milk and some Tom and Jerry?"_

"_YEAH!" both George and I shouted._

I smiled thinking back to that memory. I noticed that she'd got back up, put her handbag on the back of her car and threw her phone into the bottom of it. I narrowed my eyes as she started literally pulling at her hair.

I walked a little closer to her, making sure she could see me. As she turned, she stopped and her eyes widened.

"Oh, hey Kaila."

"Hey Mags, you okay?"

"Uh… yeah, you?"

"Aye. "

"So uh, how long you been stood there?"

"Actually just now. I came to see why you were taking so long. You uh, look like you're a little peeved."

"Oh it's nothing, just Teddy doing his usual routine."

"Ah. Well never to mind, lets go in shall we?" I said, holding my arm out for her to take. She took it and we walked inside.


	13. I Feel A Storm About To Come Rolling In

As we got inside, Steve was coming out of the kitchen with three glasses and a jug of orange juice on a tray. I sat down on the couch as gently as I could, and winced a little as my knee jarred. Maggie came and sat down next to me and popped her handbag on the floor next to her feet. I watched as she placed her foot in front of it defensively. Letting it go but certainly not forgetting it, I turned and smiled at Steve. He smiled back as he placed the tray on the coffee table.

"So Magdalena, tell me how Kaila was growing up?" Steve asked Maggie. He looked at me and smirked as I scrunched my face up and looked at Maggie pleadingly. Smiling she answered,

"Please, call me Maggie. And Kaila was a real girly girl. Ballet until she was eight and wore pink until she was 12." She smiled innocently. Steve looked at me as he passed out the glasses full of orange juice. As he gave me mine, he smirked and raised his eyebrows.

"Really now?"

"Maggie, _do _be quiet." She looked at me with a smug look and turned to look at Steve.

"Yep. Then she went through this skater girl gothic stage until she was 13. Baggy pants, skulls, chains and everything had to be black. And I mean _everything._" Magdalena gushed. I turned to her and glared. She just laughed at me and turned back to Steve.

"Is that so? Anything else interesting?"

"Other than the incident at Thanksgiving when we were sitting around the table and cousin Anthony blurted out she was-"

"Okay Magdalena! Steve's heard enough about me."

"No, go on with what you were saying Maggie. This seems to have her flustered so it must mean _something_."

"Now Magdalena, remember when we were 8 and you threatened to tell my ma that I'd ruined her curtains with those markers?"

"Yeah."

"Remember what I did to you?" I smiled. She shuddered and nodded.

"Oh yeah."

"You think just because I'm in company that I won't do it?" Her eyes widened. I smiled.

"Glad we've established some sort of neutral ground. Sorry Steven, Maggie has temporarily lost her voice." I smiled at him. He looked at me suspiciously and glanced at Maggie. Nodding, he got up and said,

"Okay, but I will find out."

"And I don't mind but I want to have two good knees so when I run, there's a good chance that you won't catch me."

"Now I'm worried." He answered.

"Oh, you should be." Maggie piped up, nodding and smiling like a maniac.

"I'm just gonna go turn on the grill, and then I'm gonna go get changed. Please don't kill each other while I'm gone."

And with that, Steve was up and out of that living room quicker than a lion out of his cage. I laughed a little at the fact he could move so fast.

I turned to Maggie and smiled. Watching her as she looked around the room, I noticed that she was counting. I kept a close eye as she looked at the windows, the entrances and exits and the kitchen. I turned my head and started to massage my knee.

"Jeez, this knee of mine is acting up again. Come to think of it, so is my shoulder. Magdalena, could you ask Steve where my med's are please?" I smiled sweetly.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, I was out of it then." She answered sweetly, running to find Steve. I waited until she was out of the room, and then carefully picked up the expensive bag she was guarding. Rummaging through, I found a packet of mints, an array of makeup products, an old mirror and _jackpot,_ the phone.

"Now who did we ring whilst we were crouched behind a car?" I murmured.

Scrolling through the call list, I found family members, old school friends and a few agencies. The only one I didn't recognize was the latest call. Grabbing my phone, I put in the number and pressed save. I quickly closed the phone and threw it back in her bag.

"Here you go, he says that you have to wait four hours now before the next dosage." Maggie said as she came in with my meds in her hand.

"Thanks Maggie, your too good to me." I smiled as I put them in my mouth and swallowed them with a swig of orange juice. I watched as she shuddered and made a face. I laughed and asked,

"What?"

"I don't know how you can down them in one."

"When you've been in situations that require you to take medication in one, it becomes habit." I smiled at her. She smiled back and went to grab her bag.

"Oh Maggie, a man called, his number ended in 44." I said innocently. I watched as she stiffened, relaxed a little and turned to me.

"What did he say?" She asked nonchalantly. _Well played Maggie._

"He asked me who I was and I told him I was your cousin, and that you were in Hawaii looking after me." I answered.

"You what?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Well, he sounded rather miffed that you didn't answer the phone but told you to call him back straight away." _Go on Maggie, take that line and spin it like there's no end._ I watched how she squirmed, raking around her bag for her phone.

"Y'know, if that's who you're dating now, I'd end it. And soon, because he doesn't sound at all nice."

"Yeah, I should end it. I think I'm gonna do it right now." And with that, she scurried off outside.

"Well played my girl, looks like my poker lessons paid off." I muttered to myself. Just as she went outside, Steve came down the stairs. Dressed in loose pants and a tank top he looked like he could fit in on the beaches of the Caribbean.

"Hey, where's your cousin going?"

"I think she's breaking up with someone, but who knows with her. She could be on the phone to her personal shopper in Milan."

"She has a personal shopper?" He asked me, a disbelieving look pasted on his face.

"Yeah, Teddy gave her one for their third wedding anniversary."

"Jeez, that's a wedding gift alright. Whatever happened to a bunch of flowers and a romantic outing?"

"I'll drink to that, Salut!" I said as I drank the last drop in my glass. Getting up I grabbed my glass and hobbled over to the kitchen sink. I watched as Steve followed me, watching my every move.

"So, how you feeling?" He asked me.

"A little better now that the pain meds are kicking in. You okay?"

"Yeah, just came in to grab the steaks from the refrigerator and then I'm gonna get the food ready."

"You want me to start cutting vegetables and steaming them?" I asked him.

"Sure but don't go hurting yourself." He replied.

"I won't." I smiled.

"Please be careful with that knife. And no stabbing your cousin."

"I just hope no-one else does." I sighed, muttering the thought quietly to myself.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, a confused look on his face.

"And here's me thinking I could get away with it." I said smiling. He laughed and walked out with the steaks. Starting to cut the carrots, my smile dropped and I shook my head.

"I feel like a storm about to come rolling in. A nasty looking one too."


	14. Your Steak Is Going Cold

I finished putting the last of the vegetables into the steamer and closed the lid properly. Satisfied with my workmanship, I made my way to the sink and placed the cutting board and the knife into it. I set the timer on the steamer to 30 minutes and took the kitchen towel from my arm and started to wipe my hands.

"Now, what to do?" I looked around and then down at myself and chuckled. I looked a disgrace. Pieces of carrots and broccoli staining my jeans, the odd scuff mark from getting in and out of Steve's truck.

Walking to the back door, I saw Steve throwing the last of the steak on the grill, along with the last of the red peppers. I smiled and looked at my watch. _5:55 P.M._ Maggie had been out there at least 15 minutes. I frowned but keep my composure and called Steve. He turned, smiled, looked at the steaks and then ran upto me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, calm down mother hen. I was just going to ask where my bed was."

"Up the stairs, second on the right. And _be_ _careful._"

"I will, and thanks again." I smiled.

"No problem, I told you I'd look after you. Plus Nala would kill me if I didn't." He laughed. I laughed a little to myself and shook my head.

"Yeah, she probably would." I then continued,

"Well I'm gonna go get changed and you better go check on those steaks. I want mine extra crispy." I smiled and he nodded as I turned to go up the stairs. Looking at my watch I closed my eyes and sighed. _Man, this girl causes me to sigh a lot._ _6:05 P.M. _I made my way up the steps slowly and walked into the room.

It was plain but it definitely had a woman's touch to it. The bed was a double and had a wooden frame. Next to it was a wooden table that was painted white and it had a lamp with a blue lampshade on top. The white bedding had light blue and light green spirals on it and the pillows had the same patterns. The walls were white but two walls had a picture of the landscapes of Hawaii. _His sister or his mom had something to do with this somewhere along the line._ The bed was just beside the door and was about 4 feet away from the window. _Glad to see his Navy training is applied EVERYWHERE in the house._

I smiled, as I knew that Steve wouldn't let anything slip, especially considering the Navy was his life. I pulled out my David & Goliath Cupcake Fleece and my cropped workout pants and started to change. I carefully put my clothes back into my bag and zipped it up. Placing it under the bed, I grabbed my gun from the table next to the bed, and put it in the back of my pants.

Walking down the hall and back down the steps, I made my way to the back of the house where Steve was. He was plating up the food and placing glasses of water next to each plate. I walked out and he looked up and laughed a little. I cocked my head to the side and smiled.

"What?"

"Cupcakes, really?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, cupcakes are awesome! And stop raising your eyebrows; you'll get wrinkles before your time." I pointed out.

"Whatever you say Costello." He chuckled.

"That's right McGarrett. Hey, have you seen Mags?" I asked as I looked around.

"No, I thought she was with you."

"Nah, I think she's still outside."

"Want me to go?"

"Nope, I shall go and pull her in by her hair extensions. Not that I'm mean in any which way, shape or form." I smirked.

"Of course you aren't Costello, whatever you say."

I turned around and walked through the living room to the door. Opening it wide, I saw Maggie talking to a woman. Even if I couldn't see the death glare she was giving Maggie, I would have known she wasn't happy with my cousin. The women's body language showed me everything I needed to see. Anger and frustration was evident, and not just because I can read peoples body language pretty easily.

I closed the door slightly and stood just out of sight. Maggie turned around and started pacing, which made me smile because she did just what Auntie Sofia did when she was frustrated. She paced and clenched her fists.

The woman wasn't much shorter than Maggie, only about 3 inches shorter in fact. Her red hair was put in a high ponytail and it came down to her shoulder blades. She had shaved the left side of her head, but I couldn't be certain on whether or not she had the right side shaved as well. When fully down I'd say it came to her waist. She was petite in build but very toned. If anything she looked like she worked out at least three times a week at two hours each time. Her tank top revealed a large tattoo of a tiger on her left bicep, and it was large enough to be a half sleeve.

This woman grabbed hold of Maggie's arm and pulled her close. I'll give her her due she had an impressive grip but I couldn't see my cousin, no matter how annoying she is, get treat like this. That was my job to get answers and nobody else's, especially not _Mohawk-haircut, tight gripped, hard-assed chick._ So, being the decent person, I decided to intervene.

"Maggie, get your butt in here." I hollered. She looked at me and scoffed. _Oh that's it._ I walked down, with only a slight limp thanks to my meds, with a look of thunder on my face. While walking to her, I started muttering.

"Stupid ass. Oughta be grateful of me intervening. Wait till we're inside. You no good pain in my ass. Maybe I should give you a-" I got to her and started raising my voice. "-That's right girl. You better get yo' butt up those stairs or may the good Lord serve as my witness, I will kick you up them. Our daddy would be turning in his grave at you disobeyin' your older sister." I grabbed her arm and turned when the woman spoke.

"We'll finish this later." I pushed Maggie out of the way and stood in front of her.

"You'll finish _what_ later?"

"Ain't nothin' to do with you." She snarled.

"Oh like hell it isn't. Your gonna stand right there and tell me _exactly _what's going on." My anger was starting to flare now.

"I'll talk to you later Gems." She muttered and stalked off. I turned back to Maggie and shoved her.

"Kaila-"

"Save it. I just did you a favor saying I was your sister."

"You don't under-"

"Damn right I don't. Now get in there, your steak is going cold."


	15. Would You Like To Pet Pepe?

As we sat down, Steve grabbed his beer and took a swig. I opened my mouth and whimpered.

"Something wrong?" He asked. My bottom lip started to tremble and I pointed from the beer to my water.

"Kaila, you know the drill."

"Yes, but _you_ know that it's a tradition_._ A _tradition._" I squeaked.

"And it can be a tradition _after _you can stop taking your meds. Now guys, dig in." We all ate in silence until Maggie spoke.

"So Steve, how come you hired Kaila to be part of your team?" She had a sickly sweet hint in her tone. Steve stared at her and then me.

"Well, we've known each other for a long time. We've been best friends and I only saw fit to have her part of my team."

"Oh, so it's not like you've taken a fancy to her?" She smiled evilly. The piece of carrot I'd put in my mouth nearly ended up lodged in my windpipe. I coughed and took a drink of my water. _Still lives to kill me. _

"Steve doesn't have to answer that Magdalena. Don't be rude."

"I'm only _asking_. And besides, it's not like you have a boyfriend."

"Because of my _job_, Magdalena."

"Let's be honest, when was the last time you got laid?" She pointed her fork at me as she asked this.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that. Now eat." I looked at Steve who had now turned a nice shade of Cardinal. He was looking out at the ocean; probably wishing he could drown right about now.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She muttered. That did it. Putting down my fork with a restrained force.

"Steve, may Maggie and I be excused for just a second?" He looked up from his daydream and nodded.

"Sure, go ahead." I nodded and smiled. As I stood up from the table, I kicked Maggie leg. She coughed and grabbed her napkin and glared at me as she wiped her mouth slowly.

Taking her arm, I dragged her into the kitchen. Once inside and out of earshot, I turned on my heel. She wriggled to try to free herself from my grip, but I don't think she understood that iron grip, means _iron grip._

"_What?_" She screeched.

"You _ever_ do that again, and I swear on all that is holy, I will handcuff you to the store with the ugliest clothes in Hawaii."

"You _wouldn't._" She answered, glaring at me with the deadliest of glares.

"Oh, but I think we both know, that I would." I grinned evilly.

"Now, your way of filling in that deep hole of yours is by going and apologizing to the owner of this house, and my boss."

"Don't you mean we?"

"Ah, my vain, designer clad, and slightly ditsy cousin. It's like you don't know me one bit." I laughed, but suddenly turned serious.

"Now march." She huffed and walked out. Steve turned to us and smiled wearily.

"Everything ok?" He asked us both.

"Yeah. Just a little misunderstanding." I smiled to try and ease the tension.

"Steve, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I forget that we're not at home with familia where we can get away with it. I'm sorry." Maggie said, and for once I believed every word.

"No sweat Maggie. Now why don't we eat?" He suggested. We both nodded and went to sit down. I made my way past him and as I did, I placed my hand on his shoulder. And to my surprise, he put his hand on mine and squeezed it gently. We all finished our food and sat there talking.

"So, how come you ended up leaving Teddy again?" I asked Maggie.

"He said I shouldn't go home."

"Care to elaborate?" I asked.

"I told some home truths and he didn't like it. I told him I was going out and he said I shouldn't go home." She shrugged. She got up from her seat and announced,

"I think I'm done. Thank you for the meal but I better get going."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, I got paperwork to see to." She smiled. My eyes narrowed slightly at her words but if she noticed she said nothing.

"Okay, well I'll call around sometime tomorrow. I'll need to see my neighbor anyway."

"Okay, bye sweet. Bye Steve, and thanks again." She walked to grab her things and Steve and I got up to walk her to the door. She picked up her bag and turned back around to us. She hugged me and whispered.

"What he said was true. That's why I came to you." I hugged her back and she turned to Steve and shook his hand. She walked out of the door and closed it behind her.

Steve went and sat on the couch, beer in hand, and I watched as he ran his hand over his face. I frowned, noticing the grip on his bottle.

"You okay?" I asked, the concern in my voice evident. He turned and looked at me.

"Kaila, don't take this the wrong way, but did you hear-"

"The double meaning in her words?" He nodded.

"Yeah."

"And guess what?" I looked at him.

"What?"

"I'm going to find out exactly what that double meaning meant."

"Well then, you're gonna need some help." He looked at me with the seriousness I knew not to question.

"No. I don't want you guys involved in this."

"Kaila, for the love of- you're family."

"And on that note, family protect family. I am protecting my Hawaiian family. My Italian family, well I need the details before I can protect them." He nodded and got up.

"I'm gonna grab the plates and start washing up."

"I'll help you." I started to get up when he stopped me.

"No you won't. You'll sit right there." His hand was on my shoulder and I looked up at him. He smiled at me and I smiled back. Taking his hand from my shoulder, I smirked. I saw the confusion in his eyes and I explained,

"Yeah, and here's my pet Unicorn Pepe. Would you like to pet Pepe?"

"Fine but you're only washing up."

"Yes sir." I saluted him.


	16. Oh Shiitake Mushrooms

As I lay down on the guest bed, I yawned and rubbed my eyes. It had been 5 hours since Maggie had left and I was now getting worried. I grabbed my phone from the side table and looked at the time. _1:00 A.M._ Locking my phone, I turned on my side and covered myself with the soft blanket. _You shouldn't be worrying, she's a Bianchi. She knows how to handle herself. Oh, whom am I kidding? She couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag. _

I groaned slightly and threw back the sheets. _Well, goodbye lovely comfortable bed with luxurious mattress and lovely soft blanket. _I silently slipped off my workout pants and exchanged them for a pair of black jeans. I gently walked across the wooden floor, praying the boards wouldn't squeak. I grabbed my boots and went back to the bed, grabbing the pair of socks from the chair that I'd put out for the next day and started putting them on. Shoving my boots on afterwards and lacing them up, I stood up and bent my knee a couple of times and did the same with my shoulder. _Still stiff and too much pain to walk on for more than ten minutes, better grab my meds on the way out._ I looked around silently and grabbed my gun from under my pillow and checking it was stocked up, I placed it in the back of my jeans.

I carefully walked down the stairs, placing each foot with the utmost delicacy. As I reached the bottom, I turned to look up to see if Steve was stood there with a glare on his face and getting ready to march me back to bed. I let out a breath; one I didn't know I was holding, as the sight in front of me was no more than an empty corridor with only a few pictures gracing the walls.

Walking into the kitchen, I opened the cupboard with all of Steve's first aid kits in and looked around for my medication. After moving a few dozen boxes of bandages I found the small cylinder filled with little white tablets. Taking it out, I unscrewed the lid and let two pills slide out. I knew that Steve would hear the refrigerator door open and close, so I popped them in my mouth and swallowed them straight. I winced as they fought to slide down my esophagus, and swallowed a couple more times to try and get them down faster. Once I felt the pills come away from my throat, I swallowed once more, turned and gently closed the cupboard door. I grabbed Steve's keys for his truck and walked over to the front door.

I looked at the keyhole, and huffed. _Now come on Steven, where do you keep your keys? They better not be on a chain around your neck otherwise I'd say you were holding me hostage. _I looked around the living room, in the dish with colored stones, in the drawer with all his junk mail. Nothing, nada, diddley squat.

I put my hand to my forehead, closed my eyes and took a breath. _Dizziness is not fun. _I then looked up at the photograph of the lovely Hawaiian hula girls striking their dancing pose. I frowned a little and cocked my head to the side. _He wouldn't, would he?_ I reached up and took the photograph from its place on the wall and turned it over. There on a hook underneath the string that held up the picture, was a key.

I took the key from the hook, placed the photograph back on its nail, and gently put the key into the hole. Turning it clockwise twice, I heard the _'click' _that put a triumphant smile on my face. Slowly pulling down on the handle, I silently pulled the door towards me and slid through the small space that led to the outdoors. Before closing the door I took the key from the inside and locked the door from the outside.

I gently walked towards Steve's truck when I saw Ellie. There was an envelope under her windscreen wiper. I took the envelope and opened it. There was my keys and a message that read,

_I thought I would have someone bring Ellie home for you. It's the least I could do, even though you put a gun to my head and ran out of the hospital before you were supposed to. And even though you nearly gave me heart failure, you brightened my job up, even if it was just for a couple of days. My number is on the back; we should go for coffee sometime _

_N._

I smiled as I looked at the back, seeing her number scrawled neatly onto it. As I shoved the paper into my pocket, I took out my keys and unlocked the door. Getting in carefully, I took off the handbrake and let Ellie roll back a little. As she got to the edge of the road just out of the sight of the McGarrett household, I fired her up. She came alive with a roar and I stepped on the accelerator gently, just to get her moving slowly. I looked up at the house and saw no lights on, which really meant nothing but it gave me false hope that I'd gotten away without him knowing.

As I drove back to my apartment, I turned on the cassette player. I looked at my collection and pulled out the one, labeled 'Frank Sinatra'. Pushing it into the slot and listened to it rolling the strip of tape to start running. Then after about 3 minutes, on came 'I Won't Dance'. I smiled, knowing this song only because my mother and father, ironically, would dance to this.

"_Come on, Dorathea. You know you love to dance." My father, laughed. My mother looked at him from her place at the sink and smiled._

"_No Frank, I have to clean up."_

"_Leave it for five minutes, just one dance, please?" He looked her in the eyes and all of my brothers, sister and I watched in anticipation. The eldest of us all was 14 at the time and Sarah and I were barely 12. Even though most boys hate love and all the mushy stuff, when it came to our parents, we could watch them exchange loving looks all day. Eventually our mother looked down, blushed and wiped her hands on the towel she had stuffed in her apron._

_Our father chuckled victoriously and she looked at us children and rolled her eyes at our father. We all giggled and shook our heads out our father like our mother did. Our father turned to us, and stuck his tongue out at us. He then looked at Antonio, the eldest, and motioned towards the record player._

_Antonio jumped from his place on the beanbag and ran to the stack of records that was taller than him._

"_Which one?" Antonio asked._

"_Frank Sinatra." Our father asked._

"_Yeah, but which _one_?"_

"_I Won't Dance."_

"_Okidoki. I Won't Dance, coming up pop." He grinned at our parents and dad led our mom to the living room. He took her by the waist, and her hand in his. Her hand went to his shoulder and they started waltzing. Antonio, Sarah and I started to sing along and the younger five sang the bits they knew._

_We were all in our pajamas, the younger boys in their button up pajamas and the elder boys with their long sleeved shirts and bottoms. Sarah and I were in our nightdresses. As it got to the chorus, Antonio grabbed Sarah, and I grabbed Georgie and we started dancing. We couldn't dance like our parents but we had a good try. The other set of twins, Gregorio and Tommy, started dancing with their teddy bears and Lucy and James were giggling from their seats on the couch. _

_We all swapped siblings as we danced until the end of the song, careful not to get in the way of our parents. We looked at our parents and they were talking quietly and laughing. Their eyes shone with love and care for each other._

_They came apart and looked at us all. We were all on the carpet giggling and our father came down to us laughing. He picked Sarah and I up and placed us on the couch, but before he could get back to the boys, we jumped on him. Eventually both the boys and us were tackling him. Our mother laughed, checked on the youngest, and said,_

"_I'm gong to finish the dishes. Thank you for the dance darling, and you children are the best dancers I've ever seen." She smiled at us with one of her dazzling smiles. _

I hadn't realized how far I'd gone until I was turning the last corner onto the road my apartment was on. I parked Ellie in my usual spot and took out my cassette and put it in the glove compartment. I got out and stretched slightly. I felt my shoulder pop and I cringed, but luckily it didn't hurt as much as I first expected.

I walked upto my apartment and noticed Mrs. Leyland stood outside her apartment, wearing her floral dressing gown and fuzzy slippers. Her curlers were placed in her hair with precision even I couldn't do. She looked tired and _very_ unhappy. She was muttering something incoherent until she turned in my direction.

"Kaila, dear, I know you've been working a lot lately and needed someone to look after your apartment, but I can _not _deal with this amount of noise." She said angrily.

"Mrs. Leyland, I am so sorry. I trusted my friend and she obviously let me down."

"I trust you'll see to this problem Kaila?" She asked me determinedly.

"Of course. You have my word ma'am."

"Thank you Kaila. You are a good girl and I'm sorry to snap. I'm just so tired, they've been shouting for hours."

"Of course, I'll deal with it immediately."

"Good night."

"And to you Mrs. Leyland."

As she walked back into her apartment, she turned and smiled at me as she closed her door to.

"Lock up Mrs. Leyland."

"As always Kaila." She chuckled.

I got my key out and opened the door to my apartment, only to find the same red headed woman punching my cousin. I paced towards them, grabbing her hand as she went to hit her again.

"What in hell's name is going on!" I shouted.

"Who are you?" The red head asked.

"The owner of this apartment. Now unless you decide to tell me what's going on, I might find a fun to way to get rid of you."

"Nothing. Let me go!"

"Lemme think about that, _no._ Do explain."

"You won't hurt me. You're too scared of my boss." She snarled.

"Oh am I now? Tell me who your boss is and I may or may not agree with you." I laughed.

She looked behind me and nodded.

"Him." Then the click of the hammer sounded and all I could say was,

"Oh Shiitake mushrooms."


	17. So, Who's Up For A Roadtrip?

I felt the handcuffs tighten around my wrists and I winced. I look over the Maggie, who was keeping her head down and biting her lip. I was sat down next to my now destroyed coffee table, and I can assure you, I was officially pissed.

"Look, before we do anything rash, why don't we sit down and talk about this?" I asked, chuckling nervously.

"How about we _don't_?" The male voice answered.

"_How about we don't? _Oh dude, you need to learn some real comebacks._" _I muttered sarcastically. I heard the shuffle of feet come towards me and his breath tickled my neck as he spoke,

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, sweetheart. What happened to respecting your superiors?"

"Well, now you mention it, a. I am _not_ your sweetheart, nor am I anyone's sweetheart. And b. I always have respect for my superiors, you just aren't one of them." I smiled sweetly.

I felt a hand come up and whack me in the head. _Well, can't say I didn't deserve it._ I groaned and watched as the red head went over to Maggie and slapped her gently on the cheek.

"You better explain what she's doing here Gems."

"I told you, _I don't know._" Maggie snarled.

"Well you better figure it out real soon Gems, cause I can't bail you out anymore." She snapped. Maggie looked at her with pure fire and I could have sworn I heard her growl. I took this as an opportunity to try and see whom the man behind me was.

"So, considering it is coming up early morning, what are you two, maybe three considering I'm contemplating the other one's place in all of this, planning to do?" I asked, with my brow raised in anticipation for there answer.

"Well first of all, I'm gonna have to" - then came a hit to the head with a groan as a reply from me - "see to issues of the heart."

"Oh, _how original._" I answered. He huffed at me and I smirked inwardly.

"I mean honestly,you should start writing a book, you could be the next Shakespeare." I was actually starting to enjoy this, given the situation.

"Oh ha-ha. You could be a comedienne if you weren't a SEAL." He said.

"Erm, excuse me mister kidnapper dude, I am _not_ a guy ergo, I ain't a SEAL. Even my cousin, who isn't very bright might I add, knows that." I looked over at Maggie, who was well and truly trying to kill me with a glare. I gave her a smile smirk, just to show I care.

"Look, you're the next best thing to a SEAL, sweetheart. Just like Mimic was." I was officially confused now.

"Mimic?" His footsteps became louder and louder until the caps of his boots were touching the base of my back. I went to turn my head to see who my attacker was, but only met a rough cotton bag.

Even after struggling profusely, he and his little friend still managed to get that bag over my head. _Must be the meds. Yeah, we'll blame the meds._

"Really, we're going with a bag? I honestly thought you'd have gone for the gunpoint angle." Inside, I was shaking with fear, and a lot of it for Maggie's safety than my own.

"I might try that yet, I'm waiting for the perfect moment."

"Yeah, only because I mentioned it. Admit it, you wouldn't have even thought about it had I not mentioned it." I was listening very carefully to the shifting of feet around me. I heard Maggie start muttering something about stupidity. _That's probably aimed at me._

"Gems, what's your deal?" I heard a female asked. _Probably the redhead._

"Oh hush your mouth Lily, I'm doing my best." I heard a sarcastic hiss from my cousin.

"That merchandise was a fine tug. You better have the cash or he'll string us all up."

"He won't, stringing you up is like throwing a puppy under a bus. Even he's not _that _evil." I was wondering where the man had wondered off to until I heard him snort.

"I'm thinking execution of your little friend here Gems. Whaddaya think?" I could tell he had a sadistic grin on his face. I scrunched my face up at the image that flashed through my mind.

"You were saying?" I heard 'Lily' say.

"_What_ was that?" He asked.

"Nothing boss, Gems and I were saying how you wouldn't pull a gun. I bet you would and she bet you wouldn't. $1,000 to whoever won." Lily piped up.

"Funny, considering Gems here doesn't have that kind of money. And if you do sweetheart, I suggest you think carefully about how you distribute it, what with your friend's life hanging in the balance." I rolled my eyes, _typical bad guy move._ I felt like mimicking his movements, but voted against considering he just said my life was a wager.

"Sure thing boss. Only a stupid bet, right Gems?"

"Right." Maggie answered quietly. _Okay, so I may have been wrong about this girl. Not a completely bad person. _I figured this was my time to try and lighten the mood.

"Err, yah, excuse my mister bad guy who won't reveal his identity?" I asked with an innocent tone.

"Yes?" He answered quite lightly, as if he was a random person who I'd asked for the time.

"Are you gonna get to killing me soon, or am I gonna be tied up forever more?" I heard him chuckle quietly and crouch down, until I felt his breath on my ear.

"No, I'm gonna wait until you're off your meds long enough so you're in pain a helluva lot more than you are now. Does that answer your question?"

"Yah, pretty much. Thanks for the information." I answered in the lightest tone I could muster.

"So, who's up for a road trip?" He asked. I noticed that no one answered him and he sighed.

"Okay, well Melanie, grab the female SEAL, Gems, you walk in front of me so I know where you are." _Melanie?_

"I've got to lock up, there's a special lock mechanism. Something this idiot here decided to install." _No I didn't. What are you upto?_

"Fine, but Melanie will have to keep an eye on you. I will start the car."

I heard the door open and footsteps gradually walk away. I felt the bag come from around my face and I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the ceiling lights. 'Lily' or 'Melanie' or whatever her name was, was stood there next to Maggie with a smile on her face.

"Okay, here's the plan. We're going to go ahead with what he's got planned and then when he actually adds to his charges by, oh I don't know, attempted murder, we'll call in the big dogs." She finished. I looked at her with a huge look of confusion on my face. I scoffed and she turned to look at me,

"Yeah, see here's the problem. It's _my_ head on the chopping block. _Do _think about your plan with _that_ in mind. Thanks." I watched as Maggie smiled.

"And while we're at it, who the _hell_ are you?" I asked looking at the red head.

"None of your business, but I'm here to help you."

"Mhmm, you see the problem I got here? Well, it started with h and ends in elp." I said a threatening smile.

"You saying I can't be trusted?" She growled.

"That's _exactly_ what I'm saying. I've known you all of half an hour, give or take, and in all that time you've helped the douche bag that put my head in a _bag_!" I growled back. She huffed at me and then looked at Maggie.

"Look Maggie, I know she's your cousin, but can I just slap her _once_?" She asked my cousin with a whine.

"Let's see you attempt that when I'm out of handcuffs." I smiled sarcastically.

"Lily he'll be wondering where we are. Even he's not _that _dumb."

"You're right, let's go." With that, Lily pulled me up and walked me out of my door. Maggie turned off all the lights and locked the door behind us all.

"Let's go where?" I asked.

"To the place he hides all his hostages." Lily answered flatly.

"What is he, a mass murderer?" I asked sarcastically. When no one answered, it took all I could to keep my mouth from dropping to the floor. I composed myself, and glared at Magdalena.

"A _mass murderer _Magdalena, _really_?"

"I didn't know at the time." She muttered.

"You didn't know at the- you could have come to _me._ I'd have helped put his ass in jail and keep him away from_ you._"

"It doesn't _work _that way. Especially when you buy coke off of him." Maggie spat back.

"Look, when I first met Maggie, I tried to warn her, but she didn't listen and ended up here." Lily shrugged. I turned to her with a raised eyebrow gracing my features.

"And how exactly does that help me right now?"

"I thought it'd help."

"Well, it _doesn't._" I answered. During our argument we had managed to get to the entrance. Lily put the bag back over my head and whispered,

"Play along, I'll do my best to get him to go lightly on you."

"Gee, _thanks_. He obviously hates me cause of this Mimic character." She yanked on my handcuffs, pulling shoulders backwards in a painfully awkward position. I yelped and huffed.

"I could tell him you resisted and said that he is a lunatic. Let's see how far you get _then_." She hissed. We walked a little way until I heard a car door opening.

"Get her in the trunk. Gems, can sit in the front with me, can't ya darlin?" He sneered. I was man handled into the trunk and felt the air push itself in as the force of trunk lid came down. _Seriously, did he get all his info from movies? _

Once the car started moving, I started to feel around, and unfortunately I was unsuccessful. _Who keeps their trunk impeccably clean? Oh wait, a mass murderer does._ I felt around my jeans the best I could, in hope I could find my phone. Then I realized it was still in the car.

"Well, in my defense, I thought it would be a quick walk in, to find her safe and sound asleep on the couch with the TV still running." I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes, trying to pick up on any distinctive activity that could help later on. All I heard was waves, car horns, and rowdy haoles. The smell of steaks came to me but I wondered if that was my stomach craving steak rather than me actually smelling it.

Eventually we came to a stop and the trunk opened once again. I felt thin fingers grab my hoodie and pull me forward.

"Get up." I heard Maggie. Her voice was cold and hard, which didn't really surprise me.

"Coming your Majesty." I swung my legs over the trunk edge and pulled myself up, my knee and shoulder really aching now. I bit back a groan as I was hauled across the ground. I heard a door open and an awful stench hit me. I wrinkled my nose and turned my face away the best I could. I felt heavy hands grab the back of my hoodie lift me up slightly. I knew I was at a disadvantage with my feet coming off the ground slightly.

"Get in there!" A gruff voice shouted. I felt my body tense as it hit the cold floor. I couldn't hold back anymore as I groaned loudly, feeling every muscle in my body protest at the coldness of the cement.

"Gems, in you go." He ordered.

"What?" I heard the shock in her voice.

"Get _in._" He ordered, more of a growl now rather than a command.

"Melanie, see to her." I heard a slight protest and then felt a body against mine. I was trying to breathe when I heard what sounded like a punch to the face. I heard Maggie whimper and felt as she sat down next to me.

"I'm sorry." Lily whispered. And then the footsteps faded and the door closed. I heard a lock mechanism that sounded pretty advanced, and then silence. I waited a couple of minutes, just trying to get as comfortable as possible.

"Mags?" I asked quietly.

"Mhmm?"

"You close?"

"No."

"Well do me a favor, get your skinny ass over here and take this thing off of my head." I tried to joke the best I could, just to make her smile. I heard her shuffle over to me and felt her tug on the bag. It came off pretty easily and once my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed the bloody lip and swollen jaw. I sighed and closed my eyes. _Poor girl didn't deserve that._

"Hold still." She ordered quietly. I obeyed as she crawled around me and stopped at my back. I heard the clink of metal against metal and then a click. The cuffs came loose I pulled my arms forward, stretching them out as much as possible. When they popped, I turned around to face Maggie fully. She looked awful to tell you the truth. I raised my hand and gently stroked away the tear that was falling down her cheek.

"Come here." I pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the top of her head, and held her as she shook violently. I closed my eyes and wondered how the hell we'd got to this. I gently pushed her away to examine her face the best I could. There was a tiny window, so the sky that was starting to brighten helped me to look at her injuries. I traced her lip and jaw, pressing gently on her jaw to check and see if there was any other damage. She winced and I apologized.

"She really did a number on you, didn't she kid?" I murmured. She nodded and I told her to open her mouth and stick out her tongue. She obliged and I swiped my thumb across the tip. She made a face and I smiled lazily at her.

"Hold still, or that blood ain't never gonna come off."

"Mom used to do that when we got a small cut." She whispered.

"I know soave." I answered quietly. I dropped my hand I winced as I tried to move.

"You in pain?" She asked.

"Yup. The meds only help if you're not getting abducted." I said sarcastically.

"Sorry." She mumbled. I looked at her and sighed,

"Don't be. I shouldn't have let you leave." She sat there quietly and I slowly made my way to the back wall. She watched me and I lifted my head to signal her to come sit with me. She crawled across, probably too tired to walk, and sat next to me. I slung my arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head on my shoulder. We sat in silence for what seemed like eternity until she spoke,

"Tell me about your Shotokan championships."

"Well, I trained under the Japanese for a heck of a long time. I think I started when I was three and didn't get to black belt til I was 19 ish. Sensei Yokuhanai treat us all like children, and he trained grandpa. We went to Japan and had this big feast. All the high and mighty's were there. There was this one man who came and I can't remember his name, but I'll never forget him. He was one of the men you never crossed. If he was your friend, you were safe, but if you crossed him, good luck to ya. Anyway, everything was cut up into little bits so when we used chopsticks it was easier. Me being the plank I was thought the grapes were off their stems. I grabbed one with my chopsticks, tugged and guess what."

"What?"

"The entire bunch came with it." I smiled, laughing slightly. Maggie finally laughed and asked,

"Where is the guy now?" my mind grew dark at the memory when I answered,

"Dead, he got shot along with his bodyguards. We all went to his funeral. Well, the Shotokan family and his relatives." I felt my entire body starting to ache, so I searched around in my pocket when I hit a stroke of luck. I pulled out three ibuprofens from my pocket and smiled to myself. _Thank you subconscious for making me shove some in my pocket._ I looked at Maggie with her swollen face and then looked at the meds.

"Mags, listen, I got an ibuprofen which might help with your swelling." She looked at me and then at the tablets.

"But I don't have any liquids to take them with."

"Well toughen up soldier, cause this is a crash course in necking meds." I popped the tablets, and gave her one. She popped it in her mouth as I did mine. Shoving them to the back off my throat, I swallowed continuously until I felt my airways become clear again.

"All you need to do is keep swallowing." She did as she was told and after a few minutes she sighed.

"Kaila?"

"Yeah?"

"I gotta tell you something." She said whilst looking to the far corner of the room.

"Go ahead." She paused for a moment, tears forming in her eyes.

"I caused the explosion."


	18. Once A Conman, Always A Checker Of Money

I frowned at her and then asked,

"What explosion?" But it suddenly dawned on me what she meant.

"You mean the one at the airport?" I honestly didn't want to believe this, but when she nodded, I felt my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. I pulled away from her so I could look at her straight in the eyes. I closed my eyes, and started rubbing my hands over my face.

"Kaila I didn't know it was gonna be bad. I thought we were just going to blow up an SUV. I didn't know they were gonna pull out guns and start shooting." I got up from my place on the floor stretched, and paced silently.

"Grace was in that car." I stated, with a blank expression covering my face.

"Kaila, you gotta believe me. If I'd have known-" I turned to her with a fire in my eyes.

"You'd have done what huh? _Not _blown up the SUV?" My voice was rising rapidly and I was using everything I had in me not to kill her. She lowered her head, and I saw her shoulders start to shake. _Great, she's crying._

"I don't think you realize that an 8 year old girl was in the same car that had a gun barrel shoved through the window. She's _eight_, she doesn't need that shit scarring her memory til she's 80!" I hissed.

"I'm so, so sorry." She cried. I walked upto her, and my fury seemed to be overpowering my pain at that moment, because I could hardly feel a thing.

"I was _shot, _Magdalena!" I shouted, pulling my hoodie to the side to reveal a patch of cloth taped to my shoulder. She had tears streaming down her face but I honestly didn't care at this point, because Grace was more important.

"I know!" She screeched

"Grace could have been killed! Not only would I have felt responsible for her death, I could _never _face Danny, Steve, Kono, Chin or Rachel again! I couldn't even face my own family, Maggie!"

"Kids forget traumatic events when they're young." She squeaked. I turned to her, with the nastiest glare I could muster.

"Forget? _Forget! _How _dare_ you? That girl could have been _killed_ and all you have to say is 'she could possibly forget'? May the good Lord help you, because if we get out of this alive, I'm gonna kick your ass to Pluto."

"Pluto isn't a planet." She answered quietly.

"Exactly, so you're gonna have to find the next thing to land on after Neptune." I growled.

I was calming down a little when I turned to see tears still streaming down her face.

"Do you hate me that bad?" I asked her quietly. She looked up at me from where she sat and frowned.

"No, what makes you think that?"

"Well, you knew about the SUV, you knew I was gonna be there. You said it yourself, you knew about the SUV exploding. Do you hate me enough to kill me?" I asked, genuinely curious as to her answer.

"It wasn't supposed to be that way. It was actually supposed to be for Steve. Steve was meant to be there at that exact time. Why were you there?" She asked me.

"I was picking Grace up from baseball practice." I said, my eyes narrowing.

"Were you already picking her up?"

"If by that you mean was it my turn to pick her up on our roster when Danny was in hospital for his check up, then no." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Maggie brought herself to her feet and looked out of the small window.

"Who's turn was it?" I looked at her then my frown became a look of realization. I sighed as I answered,

"Steve."

"How come he didn't go to pick her up?"

"He got a call from someone."

_We were all sat in our offices at HQ, either doing paperwork like Chin, cleaning our weapons or playing 13 card brag like Kono and I, seeing as though work was slow._

"_Damn Kaila, where'd you learn to play like that?" Kono said, dropping her 4 hands and extra card down on my desk. She rolled backwards and forwards on her chair while looking at me for answers. I grinned at her and laughed as she pouted._

"_Well, it started with Sunday lunches at the age of 14. Then it turned into weekly after dinner games with my grandpapi. Lady luck has been on my side ever since my dear sweet Kono." _

"_It always seems to be that when you deal, I lose. You got an extra stack of cards under there?"_

"_I'm offended. I haven't used any other cards." I faked, with a hand over my heart and a look of pain on my face. She snorted and looked down at the tattered old cards._

"_Speaking of which, when did ya get these ones?"_

"_Christmas when I was 15." I grinned. I looked at my watch and cursed. I got up and jogged over to Steve's office. He was putting away his collection of weapons when I knocked on the doorframe. He looked up and smiled._

"_Hey, you need something?"_

"_Yeah, it's 4:30, practice finishes in 15. You still picking her up?" I asked. He looked at his cell-phone and nodded._

"_Yeah, we haven't got a case and the doc hasn't rung about Danny so I'm still free."_

"_Cool, just making sure." I smiled to him. I watched as he picked up his phone, keys and gun and started to make his way towards me. I watched his arm lift and I stepped back a little._

"_What?" he asked, a smile on his face._

"_I swear, you rub my hair, I'll kick your ass in our workout tomorrow."_

"_Who say's I was gonna do that?" He looked at me innocently, a small smirk playing on his lips._

"_Oh I dunno, gut instinct?"_

"_It's cause I love ya Costello." He smirked. I glared at him with a smile on my face._

"_Yeah, of course ya do. Speaking of which, you can love me enough to buy me a drink afterwards."_

"_Who say's I love you _that_ much, huh?"_

"_Oh I dunno, gut instinct bubba." I full on grinned at him now._

"_Question." He stated._

"_Shoot." _

"_Who won?"_

"_Italy."_

"_Then you're buying the second round." He smirked at me._

"_You got it boss." I grinned. I moved out of his way and he nodded and walked towards the entrance. I walked back to my office to see Kono going through the deck of cards. She had placed all the Aces, Kings, Queens and so on, across the desk and was counting them out. I laughed quietly to myself and walked back to my seat. I sat down and raised an eyebrow at her._

"_I just _don't _get it. How can one person win so many times?"_

"_A lot of practice with old sailors who try to con their way out of losing."_

"_$10 if you please, my Hawaiian goddess." I smiled, holding out my palm._

"_Oh cut the charm, I've been around you long enough to know how you work. If you put on the charm, you get an extra $5 cause they love how you talk to them." She smiled._

"_You know me too well princess." I answered as I held the note in front of the light._

"_You seriously aren't doing what I think you're doing." _

"_Like I said, once a conman, always a checker of money. Don't take it personally." She stuck out her tongue and I did the same. As Kono was heading for her office, I heard the doors open and Steve's voice._

"_No, but if you don't give me a good enough reason to handcuff myself to my desk, it isn't going to happen lady." Kono turned to me and stuck her thumb in Steve's direction as she frowned. I shrugged my shoulders and got up to make my way to the door. Kono tapped on my shoulder and motioned for me to follow her. We walked over to Chin who subsequently looked up from his pile of papers._

"_Cuz, you know who boss man's talking to?" Kono prodded._

"_No I don't but I'm pretty sure you'll find out if you ask him." He answered in his usual calm tone._

"_Fine." She replied and walked over to the computer and leant on the edge._

"_How much are you betting he's just been told to stay away from Danny?" I asked her quietly. I heard Kono snort and I grinned as she turned to me, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes._

"_You still on with Danny and Steve hooking up?"_

"_It could happen. You heard the local's theories? They're killer."_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Yup, Kamekona has a wager on with all the people who buy from him that they'll kiss before Grace reaches 10."_

"_And _how_ exactly do you know this?" She asked me._

"_Grape vine." I smiled._

"_Yeah, and Danny keeps his hands by his side when he rants."_

"_I swear on my card skills."_

"_Oh great, that gives me absolute trust in this matter." She smirked. Just as I was about to protest, Steve walked out and hollered for us to listen up._

"_Listen, I just got a call saying that I shouldn't pick Grace up. I asked why but she wouldn't tell me, just said if I had to chain myself to my desk to keep from going, I should."_

"_You think there's something else to this?" Chin asked him._

"_I don't know but I'm gonna ask one of the other moms to pick Grace up. Maybe Mrs. Leiyani, her daughter plays with Grace at the weekends."_

"_No, I'll go."_

"_Like hell you will. If they want me, they'll probably take you as comp, so _no._"_

"_Hey, no one else can go. Chin has a date and Kono needs to work on her card skills. I'll leave my badge and leave my gun."_

"_I'm not happy about this." Steve muttered._

"_You aren't happy about a lot of things."_

"_You'll be unarmed."_

"_I have extras, you know that." I smiled._

"_Fine, but don't take the-"_

"_Same route there as I do on the way back. I know bubba, now _stop_ worrying." With that, I dropped my badge and gun in his hands and walked out of HQ._

"How are we gonna get out of this?" Maggie asked me.

"Shh, someone's coming." I hissed.

The huge door opened and when my eyes adjusted, I saw Lily come in. My reflexes kicked in just in time as I stood in front of Maggie.

"Listen here Miss slap happy, you might be able to push my cousin around, but trust me, if you hit me, you better make sure I'm down for good, other wise you better have written out a will in advance." I growled.

"I did what I had to do. Anyway, the boss wants to see you so come on." She muttered.

"What about Maggie?" I asked.

"She'll be fine."

"You gotta bet your life on that?" I questioned.

"_Yes._"

"Glad to hear it." And with that she led me out of the door.


	19. An Electric Shock the Size of Russia

As we walked outside, I noticed there was nothing. No roads, no trees, no nothing. I frowned, wondering where we were, and how the hell we were gonna get out of this. I looked at Lily, to see her clicking her fingers in a sequence.

"Hey, whatcha doin?" I asked her.

"Huh?"

"Your sequence. With your fingers."

"Oh uh, nothing, force of habit." She muttered.

"So, how'd you get into this situation?"

"Family issues. Mom screwed up, dad had issues, y'know the norm." She shrugged.

"Ah, I get it. But ya couldda just got a normal job like most."

"Nah Sheila, don't work that way. I got pulled into this without a choice."

"Ya want some help?"

"Nah, now walk."

We came to a cute little house, which, had it not been the _worst_ place to be right now, I would have praised the owner at how well kept it was.

The house itself looked like it was a Columbia blue, which might brighten as the sun came up. The door was had a lilac cast to it, with a little glass panel full of fancy scrolling in gold. It made it stand out, but not enough to make you dislike it. It had shutters on the windows in white that had a very French feel to it. There were a few plants in the flower boxes, but nothing too extravagant. All in all, it was a lovely little house that you'd want to live in when you got older.

But alas, I wasn't very happy to go into the lovely little house. With my arms at my side, Lily guided me to the side of the door, put me face forward to the wooden panel, and put my cuffs back on. _Sigh, I just get used to having them off._ She knocked twice, waited until someone hollered 'enter', and grabbed the metal links of my cuffs, and guided me through the doorway.

As we walked in, there was the typical stairway that led to a first floor, probably harboring a bedroom or two. When we walked in though, there was an open corridor full of pictures, a room to the left of the doorway with French doors that led to who knows where. She guided me to the French doors, knocked again and with a 'clink' of a lock, and Lily opened the two doors and pushed me in. There next to a desk covered with papers and a lone candle, was a figure leaning against the edge. He had his back towards us when he spoke,

"So, why the wait?" A gruff male voice asked with an eerie calmness.

"Sorry boss, she tripped up." Lily said quietly. I turned to Lily and frowned slightly. She just kept staring coldly to her boss.

"Why did she trip? What did you do to her?" His steely voice made me shiver in the 'oh-my-god-slight-issue-arising!' kind of way.

"_Nothing. _Her leg was already busted along with her shoulder. When I grabbed her on her shoulder, it must've sent some pain through her and it was too much."

"If you knew she hurt her shoulder, _do_ explain to me _why_ you decided to _grab her_ by it." He growled.

"I _forgot. _Is that a crime now?" Lily's growl was just as menacing as his, and by the sounds of it, he knew it too.

"The problem, child, is that your forgetfulness is becoming much more _frequent_. I'm starting to wonder if you should be a part of this anymore."

"And why do you think that?" She slurred. I looked at her to see her slouching now, and holding her ribs slightly. Just by the way she held herself, showed me that she'd taken a few hits in the recent months.

He pushed himself up with his hands and turned to face us both. He still leant against the desk, but now he was facing us I noticed that he'd crossed his ankles.

"I can't have an inadequate worker, my dear. We really need to second check that contract of yours."

"We don't got a contract sweetheart. If we did, I wouldn't be doing half of this shit." She snarled.

The man turned around and looked at us both. He was hardly a spring chicken but he looked as if he could still hold his own without too much of a problem. He was hitting the six foot two mark at least, and pulled off the salt and pepper look very well too. His wrinkles were what made him look good, although I'd plead the fifth if asked in a court of law. He was wearing normal attire for Hawaii, grey tank top, only slightly dirty from our surroundings, button down beige linen shirt, slightly oversized, and a pair of beige shorts that were a little _too_ short.

From what I could see in the dim light, he was burnt around his neck. It looked pretty old, as the burn itself had just turned into slight discoloration rather than peeling and scabbing etc.

I didn't say anything because I didn't know his state of mind, and whether of not the trauma of the burn and the scenario he was in when it happened, would trigger some psychotic rage.

He was looking rather smug with himself, and when he looked at me, his face dropped momentarily, but he regained his composure rather quickly. The smile he sent me for that brief moment was sad, but then again, it could have been a trick of the light.

"Ah, my dear, glad you could join us." He said in a polite tone.

"Glad to be of service, sir." I replied, holding back my sarcasm with great strain.

"Oh, still so polite. Just like the day I first met you." – he turned to Lily and raised his eyebrows at her, moving his eyes from her to my cuffs, and back to her. –"Now my dear, you know we never handcuff guests and family. You should know the rules by now." He was giving Lily a genuine smile. She pulled herself up so she was straight, huffed and walked over to me, undid my cuffs and dropped them beside me. The cuffs went with 'clank' on the wooden floor.

"And while you're at it, you can go out and see to the horses." He sat down on the expensive leather chair on his right, and rested his elbows on the arms. Placing his fingers together, he started a sequence, tapping together his thumbs, then his index fingers together, and so on.

"You don't have horses." Lily muttered.

"Humor me." He answered.

Lily didn't move for a minute, just staring at him with all her might. I can't say that he was the nicest man to deal with by the looks of him. In fact, he seemed a little psychotic in his way. She muttered to herself, put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed just enough to cause me pain. My knees started buckling, but she let go before I hit the ground. She laughed a short, menacing laugh and made her way out of the house.

I watched as she exited, a pissed off aura showing up like the Las Vegas strip. The door slammed, making the house rattle. _Lily is pissed, better stay out of her way._ I turned back to the man who was smiling far too innocently for the given situation we were in. he motioned for me to sit, and I turned to see a small metal chair. I turned back to him, and smiled.

"I hope you'll understand my situation."

"Oh, and what is that my dear?" He stopped tapping his fingers together, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Well, given the fact you _kidnapped_ me, tied me up, put a bag over my head, and put a _gun_ to my head, I don't want to take my chances sitting down on a metal chair that's probably wired up to some device where if I do something wrong, it gives me an electric shock the size of Russia, pre-independence." I smiled sweetly, and clasped my hands together.

"In all fairness, that wasn't me. Merely an employee, a monkey if you will. But fair enough, but don't complain when your knee starts hurting. Or your shoulder." He smiled sweetly, sweet enough to look like he actually cared.

"I'll take that chance, sir."

"Now, I need some help." He looked at me as well as pointing his index fingers at me.

"And _why_ would _I _help _you_?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Because Mimic needs you." He smiled. I scoffed and turned to him square on.

"Why would I help someone everyone keeps mentioning, when I don't even _know_ him or her."

"_Her._ Mimic's a woman." He smiled. _Does this guy ever frown?_ I walked to the nearest wall and leant against it, wincing as my shoulder came into contact with the wallpapered brick.

"Still doesn't give me enough motive to co-operate with the man who ordered a mass murderer to tie me up and drag me here."

"Her real name is Rosalva."

"Good for her." I answered, rather uninterested.

"Rosalva. Her full name is Rosalva Medina, also nicknamed _Rosie._" He smirked at me as he said her nickname and my face dropped significantly.

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><p><strong><strong>AN: I FOUND OUT HOW TO WORK THE LINE BREAK THINGY! NOW I KNOW HOW, PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)****


	20. Your Declaration of Celibacy

"Rosie?" I whispered, mainly to myself as my eyes drifted aimlessly.

"Mhm, I thought you'd remember that name." He answered in a smug tone.

_She screamed in surprise as she ran further into the water. I followed in after her, my cargos becoming soaked as the salt water travelled further up my pant legs. My black tank top was clinging to me but I didn't care, I was enjoying myself too much. She was wearing her usual floral dress, which I'm sure she had a wardrobe only containing floral bloody dresses, because whenever we met, she wore floral dresses. It didn't matter whether it was rain or shine; the only difference that it made was her mood, which changed the color of fabric._

"_You have to come and get me Miss Hanson, or else the sharks are going to get me." She smiled flirtatiously. Her Spanish accent was very apparent, although her English language was extremely good. Her deep steel-blue eyes had smiles that were worth a million bucks to me. Waist length chocolate brown hair that only had a slight curl, swayed around her, the ends becoming damp as she waded further into the water. Her cardigan was becoming more like a balloon and the water pushed it to the surface._

_I stood up straight and cocked my head,_

"_Are you _flirting _with me my darling?" I smiled at her fondly and slowly made my way further to her. As I closed the space between us, the wave came behind her and took her under the surface. Panic hit me as I battled against the tide, trying to get to her before she drowned. Her hand came upwards just as I got to her departure place. Dragging her back up, I watched as she spluttered coughing up the water she swallowed on her way down. She settled and looked at me, and unfortunately I couldn't keep a straight face as I looked at her._

"_Don't laugh at me!" She squealed as her eyes widened and a laugh escaped my lips._

"_I'm sorry sweetheart, but you were doing _so_ well!" – I smiled at her softly. – "Then you tripped." A full-blown laugh escaped me, and that was all she needed to dip her hand into the water and splash me. _

"_You are an evil woman, Kaila." She muttered with a smile still plastered on her face. _

"_I know but you love me for it." I muttered, gazing in her eyes but flickering to her lips every now and then._

"_Would you stop that?" She asked, rolling her eyes._

"_Stop what?" I smiled slightly._

"_Gazing at my lips as if they're something to eat. They are mine and they will stay mine until I am married." She declared, tipping her chin up defiantly. I snorted and she raised her eyebrow._

"_And _what_ are you laughing at?"_

"_Your declaration of celibacy." We were still holding onto each other, becoming more and more wet as I could feel my boots sinking into the sand. _

"_Oh?" she asked me. I smiled and nodded, my eyes never leaving hers._

"_Mhm. Considering you are going against everything your family believes in."_

"_My _brother._ It is my brother who disapproves, not my family."_

"_Still, he's your family. I don't want to be the cause of your relationship breakdown." She sniggered and looked out to the horizon._

"_You sound like a movie. He can't rule my life, and he won't. My mother and father love you, that is all that matters."_

"_Well okay then." I got up and started to walk back to the beach. I smiled to myself. I could be psychic because as I predicted, she started hollering at me in Spanish. I turned back to her and extended my arm out towards the beach._

"_Fine, you can walk in front of me if you wish." Her chin cocked to the sky, she sauntered towards me, placed her hand on my cheek and trailed it across my jaw line as she continued forward to the golden sand. I cocked my head to the side as I watched her body, clad with wet clothing that was gradually becoming slightly more transparent, and a smile that graced my face which no one could wipe away._

_I lifted my sodden boots up to try and get to her as quick as possible. Within reach of her hips, I grabbed at the fabric of her dress, and pulled slightly. She lost her balance just enough for her to fall back into me. I laughed at her tiny scream, and she clutched at my forearms and I linked my arms around her to stop her falling any further but unfortunately I lost my footing and dropped into the shallow sea._

_I buried my face in her neck, kissing it softly as she tilted her head to the side._

"_It's a shame Miss Hanson, that you're leaving so soon."_

"_I agree Miss Medina, an extreme shame indeed." I kissed her cheek, and she turned to me and said slowly,_

"_Maybe we should make most of the time we have." _

"_Oh?"_

"_Mm, otherwise pneumonia will take us both."_

"_Its Spain sweetheart. Just breathe." I answered as she pulled herself to her feet and held out her hand for me to take._

I looked at him in the eye, shrugged my shoulders and stated nonchalantly,

"Never heard of her. Pretty name but can't say we've had the pleasure of meeting." He scoffed and shook his head,

"Funny, she's heard of you." He looked at me, question in his eyes.

"No, still no recollection? Well she knows Sally Fletcher, Carri Mason, Louise Manters, Chess McAllerton, and Layla Ray Buglione." I looked at him hard, trying my best not to let my feelings show.

"Wow, she's good with names. Maybe I should meet her, I've been thinking of investing in a good PA." I replied loosely, no emotion displayed in my voice, actions or words. He stood up from his place in the chair, and walked towards me. The light from the morning sun that was rising shone through the door and the single mirror in the hallway reflected it onto his face. I remembered his face, but couldn't place it.

He got so close it was almost hard to ignore the whiskey laced coffee on his breath and what smelled like a few too many Cuban cigars on his collar.

"Funny, _she_ remembers _you_!" He spat. For the first time since I was taken, I felt honest fear.

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><p><strong>AN: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	21. That BuzzCut Looks Good On You

******A/N: SO I DECIDED TO DO A CHAPTER FROM STEVE'S POINT OF VIEW, CAUSE ALTHOUGH I HAVE IDEAS FOR KAILA, I WANT TO PORTRAY WHAT STEVE IS FEELING AS WELL AS WHAT KAILA IS FEELING. I ALSO WANT TO START RELIVING HIS TAKE ON GROWING UP WITH HER. I'M REALLY SORRY IF IT'S OUT OF SYNC WITH WHAT THE T.V SHOW STATES; WHEN HE GOT SHIPPED OFF TO NAVAL ACADEMY ETC. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE IT.**

**EVERYTHING BELONGS TO IT'S RESPECTIVE OWNERS.**

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><p><strong>STEVE'S P.O.V.<strong>

I turned to look around, seeing Kaila sat at the table, her elbow resting on the arm of the chair and holding her head up. I laughed to myself, remembering back to when we were younger.

"_Kaila, you're tired." I spoke softly. She was sprawled out on the floor of the garage, her hair fanning out around her head. She honestly looked like a starfish that had been in the Sun too long._

"_Nuh-uh. 'M just resting ma eyes." Came her muffled reply. I smiled at the fourteen year-old laid out on my dad's garage floor, covered in grease and oil. Her dark grey loose trousers that Mary had lent her, were now filthy and Mary was gonna freak for sure. She loved 'em more than her $15 a month free texts. I grabbed the rag from the workbench and wiped my hands before throwing it at her head._

_She lifted her head and glared at me, her dark under-eye circles visible even with the dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. "Seriously?" She asked, turning on her back and huffing loudly._

"_Yah, seriously. Now come on, pop's gonna kill me if he knows I was out here with you. On my own. No supervision." I stressed the last two sentences to try and make the point clear. She sat up and looked at me weirdly. _

"_Jeez Steve, you think my dad's gonna be pleased? If he knew his only daughter that likes you guys, was here in his best friend's garage, with his best friend's teenage son, yeah I would _not_ be living. You know how much Sarah would like that, having her own room?" She snorted. I bit the insides of my cheeks and raised my eyebrows._

"_And that gives you no motive to move? From the place where your dad _and_ my dad are probably gonna be with rifles?" I asked, leaning against the bench. She got up and turned to me._

"_Nope, but I know what gives me motive to move." She smiled deviously._

"_Oh yeah, and what's that?"_

"You_ giving _me_ a piggy back ride upto the house." She poked me in the chest when she said 'you' and 'me'. I smiled at her and turned._

"_All right, on the bench." She pumped her fist in the air and hissed "Yes!" excitedly. While she climbed up on the bench, I readied myself for the extra weight. Hey, she might be fourteen but 105lb is a little more than your average backpack filled with books. _

_As her arms came around my neck, I steadied her._

"_You ready?" She asked._

"_Yup, just put your leg around my waist so I can at least grab you." I answered. She did as I said and put her left leg around me. I secured it and then she did the same with her right. We walked out of the garage onto concrete and set off down the street to my house._

"_You okay?" I asked._

"_Yup, now onwards my loyal steed! That's what they say, right?" She asked, craning her neck to look at my face. _

"_You are so five in your mind." I answered._

"_And _you_ are so 27 in yours. You're only 16, nearly 17. Live a little."_

"_And that's why my mom loves you."_

"_I know. I make you feel alive!" She said dramatically, flailing her arms around._

"_Noooo, you make me my age. She gets pissed at dad for making me train so hard." I smiled at her._

"_Again McGarrett, with the boyish charm and 'make-you-swoon' smile." She said in a disbelieving tone, as she flicked my ear._

"_Ow! What the hell was that for?"_

"_Cussing Steven, naughty naughty. I'm telling your mom."_

"_Oh yeah, and how are you going to explain that? Hi Mrs. McG, I was coming in here to tell you that while your son and me were sneaking around the garage at all hours, he started cussing. I just thought it was the right thing to do, coming here and telling you of his bad language? Yeah, that'll go down a treat." I snorted, knowing she was glaring at me wishing she had laser vision._

"_What_ever_."_

"_I win." I muttered, when I felt a fist pound against my shoulder. I grabbed her anklets and pulled them, releasing the elasticized charms, only to hear her yelp._

"_Douche." She growled._

"_Dweeb." I retorted._

"_Jerk."_

"_Suck-up."_

"_Mary without her free texts." She smiled._

"_Oh, that was good. I'm writing that one down." She chuckled and I realized that we'd made our way to the house. I let her down and we walked inside. Sat in the armchair was my father, a glass of bourbon in his hand, our mother's at the mantle, staring outside, and Kaila's father stood next to my father. Our father's had murderous looks on their faces. _

_I turned to Kaila who was as shocked as I was. She looked up at me and whispered,_

"_We're in for it. Big time." And we gave the best apologetic smile we could muster._

I watched as Kaila entered the guest room. She was hobbling slightly but as ever, was too proud to admit it. She turned to close the door and gave me a tired smile. I smiled back at her and waited until I knew she'd be okay.

Making my way into my room, I closed the curtains, pulled off my shirt and grabbed some pajama pants out of the dresser. I went through my mental checklist, front door locked, _check_, back doors locked, _check_, windows all locked and tested, _check_, guns loaded and ready to use, _check._

I pulled back the sheets and dropped in. It had been a long day, from bringing her home, to having her cousin make an appearance. Granted, I don't mind her presence, but the whole situation was just strange. Her showing up, after what Kaila said had been years, breaking up with her husband, and then the double meaning of her "What he said was true. That's why I came to you." Something doesn't add up, and Kaila is determined to find out on her own.

I felt myself start to slip into the darkness that was sleep, when I heard footsteps head past my room. _You have got to be kidding me! One night of uninterrupted sleep, please!_

Grabbing my gun from under the pillow, I silently stalked towards the door, getting ready to attack the assailant when I opened the door. Remembering that I had another person actually staying in the house, opposed to any other night, excluding Cath on the odd night, I was also ready to have Kaila try to punch me in the face for pointing a gun at her.

"_Really McGarrett? I'm your best frickin friend, we talked about you not trying to tackle your best friend into the ground!" Kaila screamed, readjusting her clothes back to there un-scrunched form._

"_Kaila, I told you not to sneak up on me. I thought you were an attacker!" I scolded, folding my arms across my chest. She looked at me and pointed at my face while growling,_

"_Well excuse me for trying to surprise you! What was I gonna do, beat you with my purse? I can see it now, U.S. Navy seaman recruit, killed by a packet of mints and Russian Red lipstick." – She looked at me disbelievingly before continuing – "I know you've been trained to kill with your pinky but Jesus H. Christ, I am your _friend!_" She cocked her hip and pursed her lips. She was wearing her work uniform, a deep purple pencil skirt, crisp white blouse and a skinny black belt. _

"_Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I questioned her._

"_I got an extra hour for lunch. To come and see you off if we're being precise." – she started rocking on her feet and unthreateningly clenched and unclenched her hands – "Now are you going to be a gentleman and let me sit down, or are you gonna make me stand here in this five inch heels?" I smirked and motioned for her to sit down on the suitcase that was filled with extra bags. She walked across and sat down very ungracefully. She pulled off her heels and sighed in contentment. She sat them next to her on the makeshift chair, and rubbed her feet. Her sheer tights were starting to get holes in the bottom of the soles, probably from her walking outside in them without shoes. I shook my head as she grimaced in pain as she attempted to find a comfortable position._

"_Honestly, why do you wear that?" I asked, referring to the tight pencil skirt._

"_Because it looks _professional._ Do you think this is personal preference? Nope, I'd rather be in overalls but you can't when you're a receptionist. But I'm seventeen, paying rent on a crappy apartment, so I have to work rather than lounge under a car." She groaned, leaning back, and maybe a little too far as she let out a strangled scream and flailed her arms. I reached out to her and grabbed her ankle just in time before she successfully planted herself on the floor headfirst._

_She clambered up, grabbing the front of my t-shirt for dear life. Once she was sat up straight, she smoothed her skirt and readjusted her bun, trying to reengage her composure. I did my best to hold in my laughter but failed miserably._

"_Don't laugh, it could happen to anyone!" She looked horrified that I was laughing at her but I couldn't help it._

"_I'm sorry Kaila. I promise not to laugh at your expense. Scouts honor." I raised my right hand as I said my promise. She stuck out her tongue and huffed slightly. _

_I sat down in front of her and she put her feet on my knees. I grabbed her left foot and started working my magic. I smiled when groaned in happiness._

"_Where'd you learn to do that?"_

"_One of my mom's friends does massages. Her daughter learnt me." I grinned. She gave me an incredulous look._

"_Her daughter huh?" _

"_Yes Kaila, her _daughter_."_

"_You sure she didn't teach you anything else?" She muttered._

"_What's with the attitude?" I asked. She looked at me with anger just starting to form in her eyes._

"_There is no attitude, just asking whether or not she taught you anything else." She pulled her foot back and started putting her shoes back on. She grabbed her purse from her feet and pulled out her phone. She glanced at the screen and answered numbly,_

"_I better get back, my boss is gonna freak. She's already Godzilla on a good day." She stood to go, but I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face me._

"_Look I'm sorry okay, I shouldn't have said anything." _

"_No, I shouldn't have blown up at you, you're the one leaving." She mumbled._

"_Is that what all this is about?" I asked quietly._

"_No." She muttered sadly, looking at something on the wall. Her eyes were starting to fill with tears and I sighed and pulled her into a hug. That did it; the tears started flowing more than ever, her mascara transferring onto my shirt. I put my hand on her head, holding her close to my chest._

"_I'll be back soon." I said reassuringly._

"_But you could die!" She cried._

"_It's only training, chances are, I'll get a broken bone at the most." She pulled away and looked at me in the eyes. She sniffed and asked me dryly,_

"_And that's supposed to make me feel better? You're not very good at this reassuring lark, are you?" I smiled when she asked me this. _She's coming back around.

"_Apparently not, huh?" She pulled away and opened up her purse. She pulled out the compact mirror my mom had bought her before she'd died and got ready to open it. She let out a breath and asked me,_

"_How bad do I look?" I brought my hand up and rubbed my chin, studying her complexion. She didn't look at all bad, just a little smudged eyeliner and mascara lines._

"_What makeup do you have on?" I asked her._

"_Why?"_

"_Then I can assess the situation accordingly." I smiled._

"_You learnt that at the school didn't you?" She raised her eyebrow._

"_Yes ma'am."_

"_Oh, now that I _could_ get used to." She smirked._

"_But I have tinted moisturizer, mascara, eyeliner and a little blush, coral I think." _

"_Kaila, I'm a guy, I don't need to know the color." I answered._

"_You never know. One day it could be life and death if you don't know the difference between these colors."_

"_Then I'll give you a call. Now back to how you look. You want my honest opinion?"_

"_That's why I asked."_

"_You look like those zombie clowns that you and Mary were scared of that Mom and Dad hired for that little girls party down the street."_

"_Seriously?" She hauled up the compact and checked her appearance. Her features softened and then she wiped off the smudged makeup and dabbed under her eyes._

"_You lied."_

"_Yes, but you feel better now you've seen your face and it isn't as bad as you thought." I tried._

"_Don't do the 'it was to make you happy Kaila' thing you do. If I wasn't in these spanx, I would kick your butt so bad right now." She glared at me playfully. I pulled out my tongue and she rolled her eyes._

"_And I'm the younger of us." She commented._

"_I'm only two years older than you." _

"_You're still older than me, now come on let's get you to that base thingy ma bob so I can give you a send off."_

"_Hey, is my dad gonna be there?" I asked._

"_Uh, I dunno, probably. I mean you're his only son so yeah, he should be." She smiled reassuringly. I grabbed my bag and we headed out of the door. I locked up and as we turned to walk to her car, she turned around and hit me with her bag._

"_Ow! What the hell was that for?"_

"That,_ was for trying to tackle me like some football player!" She opened the door and got inside, starting up the engine. I followed suit and clicked the seatbelt in place._

"_Hey Jacky-boy." She said, keeping her eyes on the road._

"_Yeah?"_

"_That buzz-cut looks good on you."_

__ Knowing the memory that had caused me to choke up a little would have given the assailant enough time to leave, I opened the door gently, checked to see if it was clear, and then went to check on Kaila. Opening the door as soundlessly as possible, I swung it open carefully, keeping a look out with my peripherals. I looked inside and it revealed an empty bed with her clothes, boots and gun gone. Making my way downstairs quickly, hoping to find the intruder, I checked to see if the coast was clear, before lowering my gun and turning to the picture hanging on the wall. Not caring much, I pulled it down to see the key missing. I opened the drawer and pulled out the spare phone. Dialling the first and only number on there, I waited until it picked up.

_"Hello?" _

"Danny, it's me. Kaila's gone."

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><p><strong>ANOTHER AN: **PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)****_  
><em>


	22. So That's Where You Got It From

******Sorry I haven't updated in a while. If I have anyone still following/reading the story, I apologize profusely. I hope you enjoy the chapter though :)**

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><p><strong>STEVE'S P.O.V.<strong>

"_What?"_ Danny sounded like I felt. We all felt something for Kaila, just some different from others.

"She's gone Danny. As in not here."

"Okay, breathe." Danny said through the phone, sleep evident in his voice.

"I'm breathing Danny. In fact I'm completely calm. Kaila is not here." I was starting to get more and more agitated as this conversation went on. I looked through the thin curtain covering the window, to see that Ellie had vanished from the driveway. I turned to go up to my room, taking the stairs two at a time.

"So, what are we going on here?"

"She was here. Now she isn't."

"Steven, we all care for Kaila. Now, when and where did you last see her?"

"She's staying here. So the last time I saw her was around 9 P.M. I heard her get up to go to the bathroom at a quarter to 10 but that's it. I only got to sleep at 12 A.M."

"Okay, so we have an hour time frame to go on. Can I ask something?" He asked. I grunted into the cell for the go ahead, whilst pulling on my cargo's and grabbing my shirt. Clicking my phone onto loudspeaker, I threw it onto the bed so I could pull the dark shirt over my head.

"If you could hear me walking downstairs and I was keeping quiet, how come you couldn't hear Kaila? She's injured, and tired so she must be on the louder side, right?"

"Dan, she was trained to be non-existent. It doesn't matter whether she's got a paper cut or a missing leg, she was trained to be silent." I tied up my boots and put my gun in the holster, grabbing the phone off of the bed.

"So we have a Super SEAL and a ninja under the same roof. _Greaaat._" I smirked a little as I bound down the steps, I went to grab my truck keys, only to find them missing.

"Same charm at 2 A.M. as you do at 8:30. This is why you're my partner Danno." I stalked over to the cutlery drawer and looked at the back under the plastic tray, to have my fingers come into contact with a metal key. I grabbed it and closed the drawer.

"Yeah, yeah you big goof. I'll meet you at HQ." I heard the smile in his tone and shut off the call. Turning off the light, I slammed the door shut and went to the truck.

()()()

"Kaila's missing?" Kono asked, shock and worry all too clear.

"Yeah, but we'll find her." Danny reassured.

"I thought she was staying with you?" Chin asked, multiple coffees in hand. He passed them out and we all thanked him with a nod.

"She is, but Steven here forgot to mention she's a ninja." Danny groaned as he lent against the table.

"Look, we need to find her." I all but growled, even though I hadn't intended. I exhaled and closed my eyes.

"Sorry guys, I shouldn't be at your throats. It isn't anyone's fault but mine."

"Hey boss, you can't blame yourself. We'll find her." Kono said, in the comforting voice that she always does.

"I hope so Kono."

"Listen, I could call Jenna, ask her if she could trace Kaila's cell signal." Chin offered.

"Yeah, I'll call HPD, see if they have any reports on a 67' Shelby." Danny answered, pulling out his cell.

"I'm gonna cross check the traffic cams across Honolulu." Kono added, her fingers tapping the giant computer screen before them.

"I'm gonna go to her apartment. If she's anywhere, she'll be with Maggie."

"Whoa whoa whoa, you Neanderthal. Its 2:30. Who in their right minds would be up at 2:30?!"

"Danny, we're leaving!"

"Coming dear!" He snarked. I smiled slightly, hearing Kono and Chin snicker lightly.

()()()

Danny and I walked down the hall to Kaila's apartment, stood at the door and looked at each other.

"You think we should knock?" Danny asked.

"Worth a shot." I knocked twice, loud and swift, as Danny looked up and down the hallway. When no one answered, I backed up a step or two, pulled my gun and Danny groaned. I kicked at the lock and the door swung open.

As I walked past him to enter the apartment, I heard Danny say,

"Again, help. I will _pay_ for it!"

Stalking around the apartment, gun in hand; I was praying to find Maggie and Kaila lying on the bed together surrounded by fashion magazines. But unfortunately it was nothing like that. In fact there was nothing of significance in the bedroom at all.

"Clear." Danny said.

"Same, so what do you think happened here?" I asked referencing towards the coffee table remains.

"Probably a struggle. The shards indicate that someone or something went through the middle rather on one side."

"The question is who was it?" He asked quietly.

"Hopefully not ours." I turned to check for other clues when I noticed an elderly woman at the door. She had her rollers in and her dressing gown wrapped protectively around herself. She looked at Danny and I suspiciously.

I nudged Danny's arm and he turned, standing completely still when his eyes landed upon the woman. Eventually, she spoke,

"Who are you?" Her voice was slightly rough as she spoke.

"Hello ma'am, I'm Detective Danny Williams, and this is my partner, Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett. I take it you live in the building?" He tried.

"Yes, I'm Alice Leyland. I live next door. Is something the matter?"

"Do you know who lives here, ma'am?" I asked her. She nodded and answered,

"Kaila Costello. Nice girl, although I don't her very often. Is she in some sort of trouble?" I smiled slightly and replied,

"Actually ma'am, that's what we're trying to find out. Do you know of anything that's happened within the last 2 hours?"

"You mean the disturbance?"

"Disturbance?" Both Danny and I replied at the same time. She yawned slightly and nodded,

"Do excuse me, I've hardly slept. But yes, Kaila came to sort it. I was outside on the hallway with a few other tenants. We were all sick of the shouting. In fact, Kaila came home just in time. Some of the tenants were thinking of calling the police."

"Do you know what was going on?"

"A young girl, Maddie I think her name was, came with a red-headed girl to Kaila's apartment. I was just getting ready to leave and they were coming up the hall."

"Maggie?"

"That's the one!"

"Could you tell us anything distinctive on the red-head?" Danny asked Mrs. Leyland.

"Other than the fact she had both sides of her head shaved?" She answered rather dryly.

"Yes ma'am, if you could." He said, smiling at her tone.

"I can't say I would know her height unfortunately. She had a tattoo, though I couldn't tell you what it was. I'm ever so sorry I couldn't help more."

"That's more than enough ma'am. Thank you for your information and time." He finished with a smile. She turned and nodded slightly at me with a tired smile gracing her face. I mirrored her actions, and she turned to Danny and did the same.

"Well, I'm off to get some rest now, goodnight Detective. Goodnight Lieutenant Commander."

"Goodnight ma'am." Both Danny and I replied in unison.

Mrs. Leyland set off towards the door wrapping herself in her dressing gown once again. I turned to Danny and he smiled slightly.

"Nice woman. She reminds me of my ma. A dry sense of humor." He said quietly.

"So _that's_ where you got it from." I smirked, knowing he was going to start ranting any second now.

"That- _that's _where I _got_ _it_ from? Y'know what, it's too early to be working, let alone arguing." Danny's hand was on his hip; hair slightly out of place and his eyes were dark underneath.

"You got it. I'll remind you once it turns 8AM." Just as we were turning to leave, Mrs. Leyland popped her head around the door frame.

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you again, but I remember something about her height."

"What's that?" I asked.

"She stood about 5'8, maybe a little taller. I don't know if it's any help to you." She smiled.

"That's very relevant, thank you Mrs. Leyland."

"You're welcome gentlemen." She once again scuttled back to her apartment, obviously tired from the night's occurrence.

"I'll call Kono, there can't be many 5'8 red-headed Mohawk styled, tattoo bearers on one island, can there?" Danny smiled.

"Let's hope not Danno, otherwise we're screwed." I answered absent-mindedly.

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><p><strong>AN: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	23. Provided She Doesn't Shoot Me

**KAILA'S P.O.V**

"Do tell." I drawled.

"She remembers the day you left her. The day you walked out on her. The day you said you loved her." He all but growled. He started to pace, wobbling slightly as if he'd got up too quick.

"Well that's too bad for her." I snarled back. He turned to me, getting closer to me with every step he took. Once he was in my personal bubble, he began to shake violently.

"You have absolutely no remorse do you?" I was worrying slightly at the fact he was so close, a stupid mistake for me to make.

Thinking of strategies to get out of an upcoming predicament, I looked him straight in the eye and replied,

"Apparently not." He composed himself almost immediately, and laughed again.

"Well, why don't we ask her?" As he turned, I cursed inwardly. I shuffled slightly towards the French doors, getting ready to pull some stupid stunt in order to get out, when I noticed Lily outside, leaning against the slightly dirty window, a cigarette in her hand. Getting ready to shout and ball, I hoped and prayed she'd take pity. _Good Lord, I'm sliding downhill real fast on the backup ladder._

Whilst I'd been having an inward battle on my backup choice, I'd noticed he'd picked up his phone.

"Please send her in." He closed his phone and turned to me, smiling once again.

I looked out of my peripherals, to see Lily stubbing out her cigarette on the bottom of her boot, and blowing her remaining smoke into something, not just the air. The door opened and I started to get butterflies. _If this is Rosie, I'm well and truly snookered._

Heels clicked on the floor and I bit the inside of my cheek. The door clicked closed once again and the French doors swung open. Poker straight brown hair was the first thing that caught my eye, then the skinny jeans and ¾ sleeved raglan tee.

The woman walked upto him and hugged him tightly. She turned around and propped herself against the desk as he sat himself back down in the chair. The smile on her face was that of anger and cruelty.

I noticed Lily loitering behind the French doors, her shadow barely visible. The man looked at the woman next to him and smiled almost lovingly.

"Hello dearest." He said to her. She turned to him and nodded, a look of blankness gracing her face. She leaned towards him, and whispered something inaudible for anyone's hearing besides his. He immediately nodded and rose to his feet. I coughed rather loudly and noticed Lily's shadow disappear. _Thank God for small mercies. _

As he exited, she got up and walked towards me. _Oh fudge, I'm gonna need an icepack after this. _Pulling her hand back with force, she landed a slap straight across my cheek. _Yep, that's Rosie all right._

"Good day to you too." I answered sarcastically.

"How could you?" She spat.

"How could I what? Leave? I told you I was on leave. I had to go back eventually, you knew that from the get go." I answered calmly, emotion barely evident in my voice.

"You knew how I felt about you. I would have died for you!" Tears were rimming in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"Exactly! Which is why I left!" I rolled my shoulder backwards, trying to relieve the ache that was arising. My knee was officially on vacation, with no feeling whatsoever.

"I loved you." She answered quietly.

"No, you were in love with the idea." I replied calmly.

"How do you find that?"

"You were in love with the idea that essentially pissed off your brother, made you rebellious, a person that people looked upto for the 'wrong' reasons."

"It was nothing like that. You are just making an excuse."

"Call it what you will Rosie, but at the end of the day, I was a pawn in the game." I moved back to lean against the wall, hoping to alleviate the pain somehow. She did the same, taking steps towards me. She got so close; I could taste the ginger in her breath. _Still eats the chewy sweets. Some things never change._ She looked at my lips and I groaned inwardly. _Don't kiss me because it never ends well. _

As soon as that thought hit me, so did her lips. And she wasn't letting go. _Sweet fancy Francis, really? _

I kissed her back, but the realisation hit me quick. I grabbed her shoulders firmly and pushed her back as best I could. She stumbled slightly; her heels being far too high for her to walk in, let alone keep balanced when pushed with some sort of force.

Her upper body was tilted forward, almost at a ninety-degree angle. Her hair covered most of her face, acting like a curtain. Once she'd steadied herself completely, she lifted herself back upright and looked at me with narrowed eyes. She looked something between angry and broken.

Chest heaving, I looked at her, almost succumbing to the fact that I wanted to pull her back to me, closer than she first was. I held out my hands, keeping my palms open in a sort of 'I come in peace' gesture.

"Sit down Rosie. Please."

"Why should I do as you say? Give me a good reason, and I shall." She all but growled.

"You know I never meant to hurt you." I said, softening my tone slightly.

"I don't even think you believe that." She answered angrily.

"How'd you figure that?" I asked, my temper starting to rise slightly.

"You never once said you loved me."

"Is this what this is about? Me not expressing my feelings towards you?"

"No! It's about you never showing anything towards me!"

"So my emotionless state towards you is to blame for you kidnapping people? That's a new one, even for me darlin'." I replied with disbelief.

"I do not kidnap people!"

"Oh yeah? Funny, cause I'm stood in front of you right now and believe me, it ain't with my consent!"

"My business with you is entirely different to his." She answered calmly.

"So you know what he's planning?" I asked in an incredulous manner.

"Of course I do." She stated simply.

"And you want to lecture me on my issues in the relationship right now? How about you tell me his plans and then I let you go?" I offered. She stared at me, ever so un-amused and turned towards the desk. _Oh jeez, she's doing the 'I'm always right no matter what evidence you bring up' walk. This is gonna be swell._ She moved some of the papers around until I heard a 'clunk'. _Well this sounds painful. _

I watched her every move, as she turned, holding a gun in her left hand. She held it lazily, the weight of the gun being carried by her middle finger lying against the trigger. Looking up to me once again she murmured,

"You think you're in a position to make demands?"

"Nope, can't say I am."

"And yet you still do it." She laughed slightly. She looked down at the gun once again when I noticed the shadow to my right reappear. _Please be Lily. I'll be forever in your debt if it is you my sweet. _A slight shuffle pulled my vision back to Rosie.

"Should I kill you?" She asked. Slightly perplexed, yet unfazed I answered

"Probably." I started to make my way to her, adrenaline coursing through my body. _Make or break Costello, make sure it counts._ Her defence system kicked in almost automatically, and I watched her left hand cautiously.

"Why do you move towards your attacker who has the upper hand?" She whispered, noticing I was getting closer and closer with every word she uttered.

"Because I'm stupid." I whispered back. By this point, we were completely in each other's personal space. I watched her lips, knowing that she was watching my eyes. I gently touched her lips with mine, noting how she almost involuntarily closed her eyes upon the contact. Moving with more confidence, I watched her all the time, noticing how second by second, her grip was loosening on the gun. When the time came, just before she'd feel the gun slipping and contract her fingers around the gun, I snagged it from her grasp.

Stumbling back, I pointed the gun at her.

"You'd honestly shoot me? Your lover, your friend?" She whispered timidly.

"No." I replied in an even tone, lowering my aim. Tears formed, and gently rolled down my cheeks. I was breaking slightly each time she spoke.

"Not that you could anyway." She spoke evilly. For one split second, she'd reverted to the innocent, fragile woman I once knew. But that's all it was, just the one second.

"Why's that?"

"Because the gun isn't even loaded. But the other one is loaded and ready to fire." I frowned as she went to put her hand down on the desk, searching for another gun. _Stupid Kaila, why didn't you think she'd uppercut you? _

She frowned slightly and turned to look for the apparently missing gun.

"Looking for this, sweetheart?" Came a voice that I well and truly recognised. _I think I'm gonna kiss her, providing she doesn't shoot me. _Both Rosie and I turned, only one of us glad to see Lily stood behind me.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)**


	24. Did The Martians Exchange You?

**KAILA'S P.O.V**

"How?" Rosie asked, slightly speechless.

"Well, it had something to do with you two locking lips other there. Kinda explains itself really." Lily shrugged half-heartedly.

She hadn't aimed or even pulled back the safety, she just held it in a slightly drunk looking manner.

"Give it to me now." Rosie ordered.

"Nah."

"You are not paid enough to defy me!" Rosie growled at her.

"Sheila, I ain't paid enough in general." Lily scoffed back.

"If you don't give me the gun, then I expect you to shoot her where she stands." Lily chuckled slightly and eyed me and looked back to Rosie.

"_Oh_, she did a number on you didn't she?" Lily smirked at her.

"She did more than that, not that it is any of you business!"

"Can you use a gun?"

"Yes, of course I can. Why would you ask such a question?"

"Just wondering. If I shot her, you wouldn't get the satisfaction of doing it yourself." Lily gave her an unconcerned look.

"Oh yeah, why not put the gun in her hand and pull the trigger with her!" I muttered sarcastically.

"Another word sugar-plum, and I might just do that." Lily stated to me. _Sugar-plum. Who's she calling sugar-plum? _

Rosie looked between Lily and I, noting the tension we had between each other at that moment. Her eyes widened and she staggered slightly, looking as if she'd lost her balance.

"You're together?" Rosie asked, pointing her index finger loosely between the pair of us, but she was probably unconsciously asking herself.

"Come again?"

"Say what now?" Both Lily and I shrieked concurrently.

"How is it _Kaila_, that you manage to sleep with so many people who happen to speak with each other?" She sneered.

"Hold up young lady. I may have been with other people since you but I can assure you as of right now that, me and Mushu here are not even _remotely_ interested in each other! Hell, I've only known her since she _kidnapped me!_" I flared. Lily looked at me, slightly miffed that I'd called her a dragon but also pretty amused at my outburst.

"I'll agree with her on that one. Wouldn't go near her no matter how cute she is." Lily slurred. I turned from Lily to Rosie and nodded in her direction.

"You see? So you can take that idea right off the idea table!" I moved slightly to take the weight off of my bad knee when I realized what Lily had said.

"Hey, what's wrong with me?!" I asked slightly more offended than I'd have thought.

"You're a cop for a start. It would never work, what with me being a criminal and all."

"Great, so if I wasn't a cop, you'd date me?" I asked her genuinely.

"Honestly, your attention span is still as amazing as it was when I first met you Kaila." Rosie said, sarcasm becoming extremely clear.

"_Hey_, I need to know that I still look datable even when kidnapped and battered." I answered; mainly trying to con myself into being slightly less worried.

"You've got a nice ass. Granted I've landed you on it once or twice, but yeah, it's nice. Your ink sounds pretty good too, I'd actually like to see it one day." Lily replied uncharacteristically. My jaw dropped slightly, _this girl is a chameleon. _

"Say again? Did the Martians exchange you with the old Mushu, cause you were almost _human_ just then." I asked her incredulously. She shrugged in a bored manner and looked at Rosie.

"I'm sick of these games. Give me the gun!" Rosie demanded.

"Okay." Lily replied sedately. She passed her the gun and nodded her head in affirmation. I looked between them in complete despair, _what was she doing?_

"No, no, no, no." I whispered, in complete shock of what Lily had said and done. I was showing the pain now, both in my voice and my body. _Crap, it looks like I'm on my own. No meds or back up._

"I don't know _why_ he hired you, you disobey." Rosie sneered at Lily.

"You and me _both_ sweetheart." Her accent was mixing itself up between Australian and American. I only really noticed the Australian in her, when she used the term 'Sheila'.

"Wait outside." Rosie commanded. Lily looked at me and mock saluted, and then paced out of the house. The door slammed and we were once again left on our own, the weaker party being myself.

"This is where it ends. Goodbye." Rosie lifted the gun, retracted the safety and pulled the trigger. The shots rang through my eardrums, causing havoc. My eyes closed, waiting for the pain to envelop me. After a few seconds of no extra pain, I opened my eyes to see her stood there, tears forming.

"Why?"

"Why what?" I asked cautiously.

"Why can't I _shoot_ you?" She shouted angrily.

"I don't know." I murmured, my knee finally protesting as I dropped to the floor gracelessly. Hitting the floor caused a dull thud to echo through what was mostly silence.

"You won't be seeing me again." She growled, and with that, she stalked out of the room.

I lay there, shaking as the pain started to worsen considerably, wondering if I could do this, or if I'd ever get out of this situation with a sane mind.

"Come on guys. I need you." I prayed quietly.

The French doors swung open, and Lily once again, came back in.

"I've done more trips to you than I have the grocery store." She grumbled quietly. She didn't sound angry, although her monotone voice didn't give me the highest of hopes.

I watched as she dropped to her knees and looked at her watch. She rolled her neck in a clockwise and then anti clockwise motion and it made a sickly yet at the same time relieving 'pop'. She looked at me and then slapped my cheek continuously, making me focus. I grumbled at her, but focused no the less.

"So," She said, pushing my upper body up against the wall, making me sit as straight as possible, pulling a groan from deep in my stomach, "How do you see this ending?"

She put her hand loosely around my neck and before I could question her actions, she grabbed my bad knee and straightened it out quickly.

My eyes widened and closed tight within a millisecond of each other. My nostrils flared as I tried my best not to scream and my jaw tensed so much, I thought I'd chipped a few molars at least. She looked up at me, her usually blank face now showing the slightest touch of sympathy.

"Sorry." She replied weakly.

"I'll survive." I growled through gritted teeth. She straightened my leg out and I clamped my eyes shut once again.

"Well, it's not broken, probably sprained at a push. You need meds and I'm gonna go with my gut that says you need to be in a hospital." Anger flashed through my eyes as I looked at her.

"I _would've_, except I got kidnapped by you and Lord Mysterious. I would've been healing, and now I'm not."

"I'm _helping_ you. Don't push your look." She said angrily.

"_Don't_ push _yours_."

"I'm sorry you were brought into it like this." She sighed as she rubbed her face.

"Trust me, this isn't my first choice of vacation." I answered honestly, trying to lighten the mood.

She laughed humorlessly and looked at the French doors and then glanced at her watch once again. She then grumbled,

"You're gonna need to go back into the cell within the next five minutes."

"Where is she?"

"That girl who left? God knows, ho-"

"Where's my cousin?" I looked at her with slightly unsteady eyes, but my face showing very little, if not no emotion whatsoever.

"She's in the cell I think. That's where I left her, but he's got a key too." She murmured.

"Who is he?"

"I can't tell you that."

"_Please._ If I'm going to die darlin, I'd like to know the name of my killer. Peace of mind if you will." I smiled.

"He'll not only end you, but me and Gems too."

"Why are you being nice? You kidnapped me, and yet you're being nice. Those two words aren't usually put in the same sentence."

"Well, maybe I'm not as bad as I seem." She smiled weakly.

"She trusts you. I don't. I'm grateful for you not killing me, but don't take my words lightly when I say I don't trust you." I grated out.

"You don't have to trust me. You can personally lock me up if you want, but just know that I'm not out to end you like he is." She assured me.

"Well, at least you admit that he wants to kill me." I reasoned. She shook her head violently,

"Not kill you Sheila, end you."

"Wonderful." I groaned as I realized what she meant.


	25. A Second Round To Me, Have A Nice Day

**STEVE'S P.O.V**

Walking through the main doors of H.Q. I prayed that I'd hear "We've got something, boss". I saw Danny and Chin at the table, Chin typing away and Danny studying the contents that were on the screen. Kono was in her office typing furiously on her keyboard, an annoyed expression on her face. I walked over to Chin and Danny and exhaled. They both glanced apologetically at me, Danny even offering a slight sympathetic smile.

"Do we have anything?" I prayed silently to myself, and to any form of God up in the heavens.

"The woman that the neighbor described?" Chin asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Well, we found her through facial rec, and we can put a name to her face. Lillian Jessop, 25 years old. Her home country is Australia but she's been on the island just over two weeks. Caught her coming through Honolulu International." Chin said as he clicked through the files. He then went on, "Her recent address shows she resides in Canberra, where she moved to as part of her parole conditions."

"What's she in for?" I asked him, grateful that we'd finally got a lead on something to do with Kaila's disappearance.

"Petty theft of a toy store at 16, assault on an officer and drug smuggling just before her 17th birthday." Chin answered.

"She's made quite the name for herself, huh?" Danny stated.

"So what made this girl go from petty theft of a toy store to drug smuggling in such a short time?" I asked.

"Money? She's young, wants to make herself some extra money and thinks it's an easy option." Chin offered.

"But it isn't, why not just carry on thieving and selling them on for a higher price?"

"Maybe she wanted to go to prison." Danny shrugged. Both Chin and I looked at him slightly perplexed. Danny caught that we were both staring, and added,

"Let's say she's in a bad home. Maybe deadbeat parents or mouths to feed and her parent's jobs just aren't cutting it. So she starts small, thinking it'll help out, but then realizes that stealing isn't gonna pay the bills."

"But why not go and get a job? A _legal_ job." I asked him, understanding his point but still baffled at the girl having to turn to crime.

"Who says she didn't already? She could have been knocked back. She gets an offer she can't refuse; she's young and thinks it won't be her getting caught. Or maybe even, the guys who offered the job will help her if she does get caught."

"But when she gets caught and realizes that she's alone. Why wouldn't she just come clean rather than lie and assault an officer in the process? She'd have got less of a sentence." Chin challenged.

"What if she thought that with her in prison, it would either get her away from the lifestyle she hated, or those extra mouths got her share of the food every night. It was either a selfless act to help feed others, or an act to save herself." Danny concluded.

"For some strange reason, I actually get where you're coming from Danno." I smiled slightly.

"Well, I'm known to be the brains in the Williams' family." His chest puffed slightly and he smoothed out the non-existant creases in his shirt.

"Whatever you say Danno." I answered.

Chin clicked a few places on the computer and the security camera footage came up, with Lillian's face on it. He made one of the security videos larger than the rest and said,

"She was last seen here, talking to a group of guys who obviously don't want to be famous."

"These guys are good. They hid their faces from all the cameras. This still doesn't get us any closer to finding Kaila though." Danny muttered.

"Can we find them anywhere at all?" I asked, looking at Chin as he shook his head.

"Kono went through every single piece of footage we could get our hands on, and she said she couldn't find a thing."

At that moment, I realized I hadn't seen Kono come out of her office since I walked through the doors. She was on the phone, having what seemed to be a heated argument with the person on the other end.

"Well, you are obviously no help, no wonder your wife says the things she does!" We all perked up at that, as her voice was getting louder and louder.

"No, I don't. I'm a great listener, I just don't listen to ego maniacs."

"Keep trying buddy, and we'll see who wins." Then all of a sudden, complete calm washed over her.

"Now was that so hard?" She asked sweetly.

"Great, thank you. Oh and sir? That's a second round to me, have a nice day." And with that, she hung up the phone.

"I found something about Kaila. Apparently, there's an old farm close by that hasn't been used in over 6 years, and suddenly, the lights on in the house. A woman who fits Kaila's description has been seen going into the house with, and I quote, 'a firecracker that is in need of a good hairstylist'."

"Great, so do we know the address?" Danny asked her, pulling at his sleeves to pull them back up.

"I've got the coordinates written down right here." As she said that, she pulled out a slip of paper from her jean pocket and held it between her fingers.

"Great, let's get going." I answered, striding determinedly towards the doors.

I heard footsteps behind me indicating the others were following, although I knew they'd most likely be racing in front of me guns at the ready.

~~O~~

"We'll find her, Steve." Danny murmured as we weaved through the traffic, sirens blaring. He took out his earpiece and motioned for me to do the same.

"Huh?" My frown was becoming part of my features now, rarely leaving my face, as I took out my earpiece too.

"Look, I know you're with Catherine, and this isn't my place, b-"

"You're right, it isn't."

"I can see how you look at her, I have eyes."

"Apparently you don't, because I _don't_ look at her like anything other than a good friend." I replied through gritted teeth, my hands like vices around the steering wheel.

"_Yes_, you do babe. Look, I don't blame you, okay?"

"Don't blame me for what?"

"You and Kaila."

"We've haven't _done_ anything, Danny."

"But you want to?" Danny asked, still as calm as ever. I, on the other hand, wasn't.

"What I want doesn't matter."

"Yeah Steve, it does. You deserve to be happy." Danny replied softly.

"I'm happy, Danny. I am."

"Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?"

He'd got me there. We were nearing the house now, only 20 minutes off, at a push. I sighed, wanting to close my eyes. I would've if I hadn't been driving, but I just focused on the road.

"It's not that simple."

"Why not? Seriously, give me a good reason, and I'll drop it." Danny bargained.

"We've been through hell together, we fought together before I went into the SEAL's. She was a mechanic turned Lieutenant Commander in what seemed like a flash. Hell, we would sleep in the same bed before I went into the Navy. When we were together on the few missions, and there wasn't any room, she'd sleep on top of me. She was like my baby sister, Danny. I can't ruin what we have." My heartfelt moment over, Danny took it as his turn to speak.

"Was?"

That single word reply made me turn and look at him full on. He held my stare, finally begrudgingly turning to watch the road.

"That's all you got from my Danno style rant?"

"I'll let that comment slide. I heard it all, but I also heard the word 'was'. She _was_ like your baby sister. Not _is._"

"Just drop it Danny." I murmured as I thought back to the memories.

"_C'mon Big Ben, we gotta go sort out the zoom zooms." I heard Kaila laugh. She was in her Navy gear, toolbox in hand and grease smudged on her cheek._

"_You got it Tinker." Ben laughed. Ben was 6'3 and built like a brick wall. The colored man was the best mechanic the Navy could ask for, and also the best friend. His laugh made even the most pessimistic person see the funny and happy side of life._

"_What would y'all do without us two huh, Smooth Dog?" He smiled as they walked past me._

"_Probably die, BB."_

"_At least he's truthful, huh K?" Ben turned to her._

"_Yes sir." She laughed._

_Just as they got under the truck and start to fix the brakes, the team came rushing in._

"_McGarrett, Costello, you're with us!" Shouted one of the men._

"_Yes sir!" I hollered and pulled Kaila off of her roller board._

"_Come on K. See ya soon Ben." And with a wave, we ran to the others. Kaila went and ran next to the other females and I pulled in behind Salt._

"_Hey Smooth Dog, did ya hear about the mission?"_

"_No, what about it?"_

"_Apparently you, me, Tinker and Michelle are having to stop up top."_

"_All in a day's work huh?" I smiled as we loaded onto the ship._

"_Yup."_

_We headed to our barracks and Michelle was in with Kaila and another woman. Michelle and Kaila were tidying their beds and making everything ready to grab if need be. The other woman tied her laces tight, and saluted me. I nodded and she rushed past._

"_You hear about the mission yet Tinker?" Michelle asked her. Kaila shook her head and listened intently. Michelle had dark brown hair and had heterochromatic eyes. Her left eye was Hazel and her right eye was green. She was just taller than Kaila by an inch, and was as fiery as they come._

_I left with Salt and got prepared myself._

_Walking back up to the deck, Kaila and Michelle were already there, loading guns and tying everything down._

"_We're gonna be in for a bumpy ride, there's a storm coming." Michelle hollered. _

"_Glass half full Michelle!" Salt shouted and we all grinned at her._

"_Come on, let's get settled." Kaila smiled._

"_Hey, you think I could settle next to Chelle?" Salt asked me in a hushed voice. He was jumping up and down on the spot._

_Michael Saltzman a.k.a Salt, was from the Deep South, his accent was the tell-tale sign of where he grew up. He was tall, toned and as cheery as hell. His green eyes shone brightly like they always did, and his blonde curly hair were hidden under the helmet he wore._

"_You like Michelle?" I smirked._

"_Shut it, Smooth Dog. You think you can make Tinker trade?"_

"_I'll see what I can do." And he patted my shoulder and grinned like a maniac._

_Gun in hand, I walked over to Kaila and ushered her over to the side._

"_Yeah?" she asked._

"_Watch Salt." She frowned at me and then turned around slowly. She turned back to me and smiled._

"_He's hitting on Michelle."_

"_Yeah, and he's asked me to swap you and him."_

"_Why, so he can perv?"_

"_Yep." She raised her eyebrows and then sighed._

"_Fine, I'll make something up to Michelle."_

_She turned away and went to Michelle. Salt came over and cocked his head. I nodded and he grinned like a Cheshire cat. Kaila returned and pulled Salt down to her level._

"_Don't hurt her, okay Michael?"_

"_No ma'am."_

"_Or I'll personally kill you."_

"_Yes ma'am."_

"_Good boy." She lightly patted his cheek and he kissed her forehead. He walked hurriedly over to Michelle and started to get his things laid out._

"_You good?" She asked me._

"_Yes ma'am." I smirked at her and she smiled mischievously,_

"_What?"_

"_Nothing. Wouldn't want you to personally kill me." I gave her a toothy smile._

"_Wouldn't want you to personally kill me." She mimicked and we settled down._

_~~O~~_

"_Come on." Michelle muttered, her eye on the target._

"_How many you got Salt?" I asked through the coms._

"_Two. What about you guys?"_

"_Two."_

"_Tinker got her steady aim working?"_

"_You got him trained K?" I asked her._

_She smirked and raised her eyebrows as a 'yes'._

"_Affirmative. Michelle?"_

"_Yep, she's ready and waiting for the signal."_

"_Yeah. Captain says give them another Nautical Mile and then we gotta fire." I answered._

"_You got it Smooth Dog."_

_We did as instructed and took down the target. Soon, the storm rolled in. It came quicker and heavier than was first predicted, so we had to brace ourselves under whatever shelter was out on deck._

_Michelle and Salt were on one side, Kaila and I on the other. We could hardly hear each other so it was basically, talk to the person quite literally next to you. We couldn't go under in case we needed to take anyone down again, so we had to make do with the little shelter he had._

"_This is gonna be a great camp out." She yawned._

"_You tired?" I asked._

"_Nah, I'll be good."_

"_You're falling to sleep with your head propped on the butt of your gun, Kaila."_

"_There isn't anywhere else I can sleep. There isn't much shelter Steven, if you haven't noticed."_

"_Lay on top of me."_

"_Come again?"_

"_I'll stay propped up slightly, so it's easier access if I need to get out, and you lay on top of me."_

"_Okay."_

_She positioned herself and she finally fell to sleep after we talked about everything and anything for lord knows how long. _

_~~O~~_

_The Sun had started to rise, and the storm had blown over. The breeze was slight and the sea was calmer than it had been for hours. Salt was snoring softly through the com, so I took it out and rested it on the thick shoulder straps of my vest. _

_Kaila was drooling slightly, but her slightly rigid frame showed she would be up in a flash is something was wrong. I gently nudged her and she woke up startled._

"_It's me."_

"_Everything okay?" She asked in a slightly worried voice._

"_Yeah, everything's fine. The Sun is starting to rise. Thought you'd want to see it." She smiled at me and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. We sat up and watched as the Sun rose over the sea. In what felt like a second, I was out for the count._

Danny stared at me as we turned up the dirt track, and I clenched my jaw.

"We're on the last run Steve. We'll bring her home."

"Hopefully Danno. Hopefully."


	26. 10st 5lb, Thanks!

**A/N: I'LL BE SURPRISED IF I HAVE ANY READERS LEFT, BUT TO THOSE WHO DO READ IT, I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT. I LOST MY WORK AFTER I STUPIDLY DROPPED AND BROKE MY LAPTOP. ANYWAY, HERE'S THE CHAPTER. I HOPE IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT. :) PLEASE READ AND REVIEW, GOOD OR BAD! :)**

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><p><strong><span>KAILA'S POV<span>**

"Come on." Lily murmured gently. She looked at the door, and then her watch.

"Look, we really need to go." She said a little stronger than before. I looked at her and winced with my knee.

"Yup, on it." She put her arms under mine and looked at me.

"You ready?" Her accent coming through more and more as she spoke.

"Nope, but I don't have much of a choice."

"1, 2, 3." On the '3', she hoisted me up whilst I pushed with my good leg. We weren't the best pair to haul a person up, but we tried our best.

"And we're up." She huffed out.

"Thanks." I smiled slightly. she gave a quick humourless smile. She rocked herself back onto her knees and hoisted herself up to standing. She brushed herself down and readjusted her shirt.

I looked to the French doors, hoping that no one would walk through them. She walked over to the desk, opened all three drawers until she found what she was looking for. Eventually, she straightened up, looking at me with a slightly sorrowful look.

"Yeah, this, this isn't going to be good for you."

I closed my eyes and exhaled loudly.

"Yeah, I know." My hands went in front of me, wrists together, as she walked over to me, and wrapped my wrists with the cuffs.

"Just so y'know, ouch." She looked at me, and then pulled them even tighter.

"Oops."

"Oops. _Right_." I scowled.

"Come on." She ordered, moving me towards the French doors, and out of the house. Lily walked out of the front door first, and then led me towards the 'prison'.

The air was sweet and warm, almost homely. Well, except for the kidnapping and deserted grounds.

Lily opened the mechanism on the door, pulled out a key, unlocked a minuscule padlock and held it in her hands. She walked back towards me, put a hand on my back and guided me towards the entrance. I looked around the darkening room, noticing there was no sign of life. No sign of Maggie.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Somewhere safe."

"That ain't good enough sweetheart. I want to know where she is!" Lily looked around, noticing the mysterious captor was nowhere to be found. She huffed and grabbed my arm roughly.

"Grab me."

"What?" My expression went from murderous to murderous and confused.

"_Grab me_." She went to punch me and I ducked, kicking her in the knee, and as she collapsed, I put the links of my cuffs around her throat, dragging her into the 'prison'. Once we were inside and out of the way of watchful eyes, she cursed.

"Why'd you have to do it so hard?!"

I shrugged,

"It had to be realistic."

"Whatever." She grumbled.

"So what was this for?"

"So he couldn't see us being sociable." She answered sarcastically.

"And why would we be sociable?"

"Because you want to know about our cousin. Or am I wrong?"

"Go on." I pressed.

"Josie-"

"Rosie."

"Whatever. Anyway, she was out here before and said something about blowing up the entire property. She was talking in Spanish so it's not the best translation, but I definitely heard 'bomb' and 'property'. So after I got you in with his Lordship and he kindly told me to get bent, I came out for a smoke."

"Can we get to the point where you tell me where Maggie is?"

"Don't _rush_ me." She scowled. I huffed and motioned for her to go on.

"Anyway, I heard Gems sniffling and came to see what was wrong. She said you knew about the SUV and McGarrett."

"Yeah, which, by the way, you need to explain."

"Will do. She said something about wanting to die, so I told her a friend of mine could help."

"You gave her the option of death? How is _THAT_ safe?!"

"He's a cop! A dirty one, but still a good guy."

"How'd you work that out?" I scoffed.

"He met me while you were having it out, and took Gems to his house. With his wife. And 3 kids there. All under 12."

"So Maggie's with a bent cop. And the dude who did all this, he doesn't know where she is?"

"Nah. I'm not that stupid." I exhaled and closed my eyes. I opened them to see Lily smile tiredly.

"Thanks." I murmured.

"Anytime sheila." We both looked like meerkats as we heard a door bang. Lily scraped her arm across the jagged floor and then jumped up quickly.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked.

"Make it look like a scuffle!" She whispered back harshly, her face scrunching up from the pain.

"Lie down and act knocked out!" She added. I did as I was told and suddenly a voice was extremely close.

"Why were you so long? And where is Gems?" The man from the house asked. I did my best to control the sickening shiver making its way down my spine.

"She decided to get cocky. Thought she could take me." Lily muttered arrogantly.

"I thought she was trained?"

"She was, but so was I."

"Well, now you've made your job harder." He replied lightly.

"Why?"

"Because you're going to have to carry dead weight to the car. We need to move, and fast."

"Who knows we're here?"

"Five-0. They must have got a tip off or something." He answered grimly.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Wait, you think I would tell them?" She seethed.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Let's see, I'm in on this too! If you go down, I do. I'll be put in for a long time. I can't afford anymore jail time. That's _why_!"

"Don't get snappy. Answer me this, where. Is. Gems?"

"She killed herself." Lily replied simply.

"She killed herself." He answered disbelievingly.

"Yes. And the girl who came here couldn't handle what she saw and had someone take her and bury her. Seems your friends don't have cast iron stomachs."

"I don't believe you. But we don't have time, now hurry up!"

I heard the footsteps rush away, and gently opened my eyes. Lily was stood in the doorway.

"Time to go?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretend to be unconscious."

"Sure." She walked over and grabbed my cuffs. She heaved and was able to move me slightly.

"Sheila, you ain't as light as you look."

"10st 5lb, thanks!" I grunted back.

Lily eventually found her rhythm and dragged me to the vehicle.

"What do you what me to do with her?" She asked.

"Get her in the trunk and get in." He answered.

She did as asked, manoeuvring me up and putting me in none too gently. Suddenly, the trunk lid closed on me.


	27. Out of the Frying Pan

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR THIS BEING SO LATE. SCHOOL AND WORK TOOK OVER MY LIFE FOR A WHILE. HOPEFULLY I'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE Y'ALL A FEW MORE CHAPTERS ON A REGULAR BASIS :) **

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><p><strong>KAILA'S P.O.V<strong>

The noise of gravel hitting the underbelly of the car was deafening. The fact that I had no way of getting out of this was becoming more real by the second. It seemed that fate wanted this to be the end for me. No escape. Tears started to form in my eyes, making their way down my face in little trickles.

"No! It's not gonna end like this. I want kids, and I would rather die from a freak accident than like this!" I muttered harshly to myself, furiously rubbing my tears away.

We seemed to have gone onto a smoother surface, because the sound of gravel kicking up onto the car had dissipated. Now we seemed to be on a less noisy surface, I could make out a few sentences between what sounded like Lily and Mr. Mysterious.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

A bump in the road shook the car, causing me to miss a reply other than the last words, "Ask questions."

A sudden feeling of something being lodged into my back, gave me the realization that I wasn't the only thing in the trunk. The cuffs were digging into my flesh, but I managed to move my hands around to make out what seemed to be a shovel. I think.

I was concentrating so much on what was in my back, that I'd missed some of the conversation. The next thing I heard was "Gems." That sparked my interest significantly. I strained as best I could to try and hear better, but all I heard were snippets.

"Killed herself. Simple." Lily answered. My heart sped up at hearing that, even though Lily had told me she'd made her safe. You can't trust anyone these days, so Lily wasn't even close to being on the list of "Trustworthy People in my Life".

I started pushing against my restraints, hoping to get free or at least remotely less secure. My efforts were in vein though, with the restraints not budging in the slightest. I huffed and stopped; reserving whatever energy I had left.

Then, all I felt was pain. We were on an uneven surface that was for sure. The car rattled and bounced, the contents of the trunk hitting me at different angles, causing pain from all angles.

Soon, the car came to a stop and the butterflies in the pit of my stomach set off like a bull in a china shop. I waited, listening for the car doors to slam and waited nervously for the trunk to open, and daylight to make its way inside.

"Come on, come on." I whispered anxiously. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I prayed it would be Lily that opened the trunk lid, as opposed to Mr. Mysterious.

When the door slammed, and the footsteps got louder, I waited with no emotion behind my closed eyes. _You're going to die like a soldier. Accept it. _I kept those words going through my mind, my eyes becoming colder and colder.

"Not a chance in hell! I ain't gonna go run off a cliff in a car just so you can tie up loose ends!" I heard Lily scream. We must have been somewhere secluded; otherwise they wouldn't have been so obvious.

"You can and you _will_!" He shouted back.

"How are you going to make me do that, huh?"

"Well, now you mention it, I was going to tape your hands to the wheel, tape your foot to the accelerator and take off the handbrake. Goodbye problem." He replied cheerily. _This man is whacked._

"You're sick in the block!" She replied.

"I assume you mean head. But yes, you're probably right. So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Take your pick dear." He replied.

"No! God no!"

"Okay, well I tried to be nice." The trunk opened, a hand moved behind me to grab what I'm guessing was a shovel. The trunk lid banged closed and I released a breath I didn't know I held. Then I waited, listening for anything significant. A shuffling of feet and a few grunts and then, _Whack! _A shudder ran through me, fearing that my one escape card had just been smacked upside the head with a shovel.

There was a silence before the weapon dropped with a clank and someone was being dragged. The sudden relief I felt when I heard that Australian twang, well, it can't be described.

The lid opened and she looked at me, an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth. The sudden light was causing my eyes to readjust too quickly, hurting them in the process. They soon came to though.

"Come on sheila, get in the front."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Whacked him with the shovel. I wasn't about to die, especially not with you."

"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes at her. Moving slightly, Lily followed my lead by helping me up slightly. I noticed we were on a dirt track, with nothing but a few trees and some fields. After getting me out, I carefully moved around the car, my hands still tied. Shuffling around using the car as a support, I noticed Mr. Mysterious lying in the back.

Now, even in the daylight, I still didn't recognize him. I was confused, but most of all, in pain. Lily grabbed my wrists roughly, and with a Swiss I didn't know she had, picked the lock to my cuffs.

"Couldn't you just have used the key?" I asked.

"Wanted the effect. Now get in." I rolled my eyes, opened the passenger door, and dropped into the seat with no grace whatsoever.

"Where we going?" I asked as she adjusted herself in the drivers seat.

"Back to that damn house. We need to get something."

"You gonna kill me?" I asked.

"Probably, now here," she passed me a Glock she'd just acquired from under the seat, "if he wakes up, put a bullet anywhere minor."

"Why would I do that? How's it gonna help me?"

"I'm less likely to torture you."

"Good point." I turned in my seat, ready for the slightest movement as Lily revved the engine and pulled off from the dirt track. I sighed to myself. _Well, from the frying pan to the fire it seems._

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><p><strong><em>AN: PLEASE REVIEW, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD I CAN TAKE IT! :)_**


	28. Bitchy Mushu is Back

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY I'VE NEGLECTED UPDATING. HONESTLY, IF I HAVE ANY READERS LEFT, I'M GRATEFUL Y'ALL HAVE STAYED AROUND. I BROKE MY LAPTOP JUST AFTER MY LAST UPDATE AND LOST ALL OF MY PRE WRITEN WORK. I'VE ONLY JUST GOT IT ALL UP AND RUNNING PROPERLY SO ONCE AGAIN, I APOLOGISE.**

**PLEASE R&R, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. GOOD OR BAD, I CAN TAKE IT!**

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><p><strong>KAILA'S P.O.V<strong>

As we drove back to the house, two emotions were present. Fear and curiosity. _How am I gonna get out of this? _I looked over to see Lily concentrating on the road, a frown gracing her features. Mr. Mysterious was still unconscious on the back seat, but I wasn't about to get comfortable. _He could wake up at any minute and cause a commotion._ I pulled down the sun visor and watched him through the little mirror. The silence in the car was uncomfortable; you could cut the tension with a knife.

"What made you do this?" I asked, breaking the silence. Lily jolted slightly, obviously brought back to the reality of the situation. Once she registered what I had just asked, she grimaced.

"What makes you do your job?" She replied. I looked at her, slightly complexed at the question she answered with.

"Because I'm keeping people safe. That's my duty. Your turn." I said, looking back through the windshield, momentarily switching between that and the sun visors mirror.

"I can't give you an answer." She muttered.

"Why?" I looked back at her, hoping that maybe my staring would make her crack.

"Because I don't have an answer to give you." Her accent slipped through a little more each time she spoke. Maybe it was the fact Mr. Mysterious was dead to the world, hopefully taking the literal meaning and she'd hit him hard enough to concuss him permanently.

I sat there, letting the silence sit once again. _God, this is just great. He's conked out and she's behind the wheel. No idea where Maggie is, and I'm rambling on and ohmygod, think I'm gonna hyperventilate, shitshitshit. _

I closed my eyes and took a controlled breath, hoping to stop what seemed to be my first hyperventilation moment. After a minute, I opened my eyes. _Still trapped in a car, great. _Lily's voice broke my moment.

"You okay?"

"Huh?" I turned to look at her.

"Are. You. Okay?"

"It really depends on your definition of 'okay'." I sniped. She rolled her eyes at me and shook her head before speaking again.

"Are you dying?"

"I sure as hell hope not. I want to die with people I actually _like._ And preferably have grandbabies, thank you."

"And here's me thinking you loved me whole heartedly." Lily replied sarcastically. Her comment actually made me laugh.

"Oh god, the pain must be making me delusional, because I actually find you funny and no, I'm not being sarcastic." I rubbed my face and scrubbed at my eyes. I smelled awful. I'm used to smelling slightly off but today, this was just too much. I wanted to throw up, scream, cry, sleep and laugh all at the same time, even though it isn't possible. At least I don't think it is. I held the gun loosely, doing my best to focus.

Lily didn't say anything; she just held the wheel tightly and pressed the gas pedal. In the midst of staying awake and also keeping an eye on Mr. Mysterious, I'd hardly focused on where we were going, or any surroundings whatsoever. That was probably my biggest mistake but quite frankly, I was starting to give up on the 'getting out of this alive' theory.

The crunchy gravel under the car brought my attention back to the reality of the situation. Lily brought the car to a stop and undid her seatbelt. I rolled my eyes as she got out and opened my own door. I was hoping my knee would be the only problem I had to deal with, but I was so _so_ wrong. Everything ached. Not one body part was unscathed and I almost could've cried at that moment.

Lily grabbed Mr. Mysterious by the scruff of his collar and dragged him off of the back seat. I was amazed at how she could drag him with what seemed with little effort. Once he was flat on the ground, she crouched down and jabbed two fingers to his pulse point in his neck.

"Shit." She cursed harshly.

"What?" I asked, my heart rate starting to rise slightly.

"He's still breathing." She growled. I looked at her for a moment and saw the tiniest of smiles grace her face. The smile made her seem ten years younger than the state I've seen her so far. I shook my head and watched as she grabbed a pair of metal handcuffs out of the trunk.

"I got tie wraps but _he _gets handcuffs. Where can I complain?"

"These cant be cut. Some weird enforced metal or something. I can't remember exactly what he said but it was along those lines. And they only have one key. A key that is easily breakable." She grinned sadistically.

"Oh." I replied. That was the only thing I could say, because there was nothing more I _could_ say.

"Come on, help me get him in the fucked up gardening shed."

We both dragged his still alive body across the gravel and shoved him carelessly into it. Locking the door as we got out, the light bulb pinged inside my head.

"Doesn't he have a key for this?"

"Yep, but you can't lock or unlock it from the inside. Now, get a move on, I didn't catch the time she was gonna blow it up."

I suddenly remembered what she meant by that statement. I hobbled behind Lily, trying as best I could to match her pace when all of a sudden, horror washed through me. _What the hell am I doing? She helped kidnap me! She could be the mastermind behind this; fuck I'm stupid. Oh my god, how friggin stupid can I get?_

I raised my gun at her head, waiting for her to turn around with hers pointed at me. Tears of anger and exhaustion pooled in my eyes which were threatening to spill out. My face was contorted into what was probably an ugly expression.

"Stop." I commanded. She did. She was stood at the bottom of the steps, and she was stood as straight as an arrow.

"Turn around." Again, my anger was getting the better of me. A tear fell but I didn't dare move to wipe it, just in case she did something and I couldn't react quickly enough. Lily sighed heavily and turned slowly.

"Sheila, I-" She started but I cut her off.

"No! No, you don't get the say right now. Who the hell are you? What do you want with my cousin and me? Who the _fuck_ is _he_?" I was breaking down. I wasn't thinking with my head. My training had gone out of the window. I could barely function properly anymore.

"I'll explain inside." She was calm. It was the calmest I'd ever seen her throughout this entire ordeal.

"Why not out here?" I growled.

"Because the very nice red dot that's just made its place at your feet is probably going to kill us."

Without much thought, we dashed for the house. My leg hurt like hell but I didn't care. As we got inside, Lily kicked the door of another room open and unveiled an amazing collection of weaponry. She grabbed what she could and ordered me to do the same. We made it up the stairs with little issue other than pain.

At the end of the hallway on the left was a huge door. The door had a fingerprint scanner and she jammed her thumb onto the little touch screen. The door unlocked and she pushed me inside. I fell to the ground as she locked the door behind us.

I couldn't move.

"Sheila?" She panted heavily as she questioned. I didn't answer.

"Kaila?" Her tone was a little more concerned than before.

"I'm done." I growled but still didn't move. "You've done what you set out to do. You've fuckin' broken me. You happy now? You win. Enjoy. Do whatever it is you want to do to me. Beat me. Shoot me. I really don't give a toss."

She just laughed. _Laughed._

"Don't be a bloody idiot." Her accent was entirely Australian now. No hints of any other accent, just her natural one. I said nothing, but I looked up to meet her eyes. The shouts of men and women were muffled but still audible.

"What?" I questioned her.

"Sheila, we're in this together for the time being so shut up and put up. Grab a gun or two, because we've got some arse kicking to do."

I smiled slightly at her statement. _The bitchy Mushu is back_.


	29. You Ready, Sheila?

**THANKS FOR STAYING WITH ME, IF THERE IS ANYONE STILL LEFT. ENJOY! : )**

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><p>As Lily and I got ready for when these people either shot the door down or kicked it in, I noticed she was checking her ammunition.<p>

"Theo." She muttered. My head snapped around to look at her. The dim light shadowed most of her face, but mine was plainly showing a puzzled expression.

"What?"

"His name. The guy that we just locked up in the weird shed." She replied.

"Theo?" _I've heard that before. _I raked my mind to try and place the name. It was there, I knew it was, but I just couldn't reach it to know for sure.

Another shout made both of our heads whip for the entrance. I turned my gaze to Lily, who had pulled down the hammer already, getting ready to take no prisoners who decided to walk through the door.

"You ready, Sheila?" She asked quietly.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Mushu." I replied. As I quickly darted my eyes to her, I could see the tiniest hint of a smile or a smirk grace her features. I clicked the hammer down on the gun I'd grabbed, ready for action.

The pain meds were officially out of my system by the time multiple masked men rammed through the door. Shot fired from all directions and all I knew was I hit two men in the legs. I felt pain rip through my knee, but I wasn't sure if it was from a new injury or an old one. I yelled out in pain as I fell and looked to see Lily dropping her first weapon of choice and picking up her backup.

The men were shouting in a different language, neither Italian nor Hawaiian. I had no idea what they were saying, but I did know they weren't going to leave any loose ends. I moved to angle myself better as more people came through the small entrance, and pulled my backup with me. I tried to move without being noticed but it was hard.

I shot at more of the intruders, hoping and praying that I'd hit somewhere on their bodies before I blacked out from the pain. Lily was still stood there, fighting strong, and never once stopped. She shouted out in pain as a bullet hit her foot and she fell.

"Bastards!" She cried at the men.

One of the masked figures lifted off his glasses to look around. Suddenly, he shook his head and ordered for all but two of the men to leave. The other two men stood with their guns aimed at our heads. The man giving the orders slowly walked to us in the tiny space, crouched to our level and looked us in the eyes one at a time. Eventually, he spoke.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice thick with an accent that sounded Spanish or Mexican.

"Shouldn't we ask you the same thing?" I asked, breathing heavily. His armour was deep, and with vest that they looked like they belonged to a police unit. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"Very well. You aren't the ones we're looking for." With that, he stood upright and turned for the door.

"What, that's it? You send in so many guns and then once you've ascertained we're not your targets you turn and leave? Fuck me, that's screwed up. Not even a sorry, you bastard." Lily growled back, her anger flowing freely. He turned back around and spoke once more.

"We thought she was here. Obviously we were wrong. _Sorry_." My jaw dropped.

"Are you _serious_? I'm with her, that is screwed _up_, douche bag!" My anger and pain were mixing, which wasn't a good thing.

They left in a hurry; all of them seeming to vanish before Lily or I could even catch a name or a vehicle. I skipped steps and managed to make it to the front door just as the dust started to kick up and cloak their exit. I growled in frustration, kicking the doorframe before remembering that my other knee wasn't up to holding my weight.

Lily sauntered up behind me, both tired and panting, but a lot calmer than I. I stared at her suspiciously, my eyes narrowing.

"Why are you so calm?"

"Because," she replied pulling her hand from behind her back, "I happened to swipe this." And with that, she held out a small card in the palm of her hand with what looked like the ID of one of the men. I stared at the card in astonishment, unable to believe how she'd done that without being caught.

"How did you even?"

"All in the distraction, Sheila." She grinned tiredly. I shook my head and replied,

"I don't even care, what's it say?" She looked at the card in her hand and shrugged.

"All it has is a photo and some foreign words. Maybe Spanish or something?" I sighed and scrubbed my eyes.

"We're getting nowhere right now. What we need to do is find a way to contact my team."

"And say what?" She asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I dunno. Hey guys, well I got kidnapped and then ended up working with the _female_ kidnapper to ransack the _male _kidnapper and thought I'd call for some help. Plus I need my hospital bed right about now." I replied glaring at her, smiling with just as much sarcasm as my tone had.

"Okay fine, I can't even be bothered to argue. Just make sure you tell them it was _his_ idea. I want minimum time for his shit." She huffed.

"Damn, you're taking this awfully well. Hate to break it to you, Mushu, but I don't even have a way to contact them." I started to cough violently, the dust from outside seeming to tickle my throat a little too much than what I could handle.

"Come on." She grumbled and walked into the study room thing where she'd first taken me when it was my first time inside the house.

The French doors were shot to pieces but incredibly; they were still on the hinges. She pushed through them and made her way to the desk. All the drawers had been disturbed, probably in hopes of finding whatever the masked men had failed to find.

Lily threw items that were of no use to her onto the floor as she looked through. I was still guarding the door, just in case anyone else decided to make an entrance.

Suddenly the shuffling and throwing came to a stop, and as I looked up, I noticed she had a dusty cell phone in her hand. My eyebrow raised and then my lips moved.

"You had a phone? This _entire_ time?! Oh my God, we could've avoided this!" _Restrain yourself, Kaila!_

"It _was_ mine! He took it from me when we started disagreeing. So shut up and call whoever it is you need to call because there isn't much battery left." She scolded.

I took the phone from her and slid the key to unlock it. But to my dismay, the thing had a password.

"It's locked. Unlock it."

"I didn't put a lock on it, Sheila."

"We're screwed." I sighed. Lily groaned and massaged her eyes with the palms of her hands. She hissed and looked down sharply.

"What?" I asked.

"My foot. In all of the shit, I forgot I'd been shot." She was pissed off. Big time. Which made two of us. I hobbled over to her and looked at the damage.

"I'm no medic but I did have basic training." With that, I started to do my best at bandaging her foot up.

"OW!" She pulled her foot back quickly and I huffed as I grabbed her leg again.

"Stop whining. You knew it wasn't going to tickle!" I replied harshly.

Eventually, I'd got it bandaged with some cloth from her shirt and even though I wasn't a doctor, I didn't think it looked _that_ bad.

"I look like a yeti swapped a foot with me." She said.

"Not my problem, Mushu. Now let's crack this code."

We sat there for what seemed like forever and looked through every angle.

"Maybe his name?" I asked. We tried it but it denied us access.

"His year of birth?" I volunteered.

"How the hell should I know when he was born?" Lily replied, staring at me incredulously.

"I… Whatever, just think, woman!" We were getting more frustrated by the minute and more anxious.

Suddenly, after multiple different codes and thought patterns, my eyes lit up and I looked at Lily.

"What?" She asked suspiciously.

"Mushu, I think I've cracked the code." I said excitedly as I tried the pin number.

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><p><strong>Y'ALL KNOW THE DRILL. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW AS IT'D MEAN A LOT TO ME : ) <strong>


	30. Kinda Like You, You Neanderthal

**A/N: So yeah, hey. Y'all know the drill, enjoy! : ) And I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed, and also followed this story so far, it really means a lot to me knowing you guys like it : ) **

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><p><strong>KAILA'S P.O.V<strong>

"Okay, so it's a long shot but just let me try it." I murmured.

"Whatever, just type it in!" Lily replied, agitated as hell.

I quickly typed in Maggie's birth year and it clicked as it unlocked onto the main screen. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"How'd you guess that?" She asked, surprise and relief both clouding over her face.

"Wild theory proven right, dear Mushu." I smirked. She rolled her eyes at me.

There was only 10% battery left, and it was dying quickly. I jabbed at the keypad with dirty fingers and prayed to God that someone would pick up.

"Who're you calling?" Lily asked, massaging her bad leg to try to help the pain she was experiencing.

"Santa." I replied and as she stared at me, I noticed her hand come up and give me a rather unladylike gesture. I snorted, and soon the ringing had started to begin.

"Come on, come on."

**STEVE'S P.O.V**

Pulling into the old farm, I noticed the trees were rich and vibrant, almost idyllic.

"Jesus, it's like a farm out of a horror movie. All pretty and sweet on the outside, and dungeons on the inside." Danny mumbled.

"I just hope she's here, Danny." I hope my training was coming into play, schooling my face, because if not, Danny would be reading me like an open book.

"Okay, I need you guys to search the outer buildings. Danny and I will search the house." I ordered to the HPD officers. They nodded and voiced their 'affirmative'.

We both set off from the car and walked up to front porch, waiting for something to happen. I took in a gulp of air; ready to kill whoever took Kaila.

Walking slowly and quietly through the old house, Danny and I were almost certain we'd found the place. Dried blood on the floor, with papers strewn across tables and furniture knocked out-of-place.

"Someone either left in a hurry, or didn't leave at all." Danny muttered quietly. The knot in my stomach tightened at his words.

After what seemed like hours of waiting and searching the house, I finally hollered out for her.

"Kaila! Kaila, you here?"

Silence followed, and my head drooped. Danny's hand touched my shoulder and I looked at him. I shook my head slightly and walked outside, hoping they'd found her somewhere else.

"Anything?" Danny asked the HPD officer in charge. He shook his head sadly.

"Sorry Detective, nothing. The only thing in there is mice and bats."

I scrubbed my hand over my face and growled in frustration. Danny looked at me as we stood in the middle of the farm where she was supposed to be.

"We'll find her." Danny said softly but with a determined tone.

"Times running out, Danny." I replied.

"Hey, this is Kaila we're talking about. She'd outlive you with a busted artery and without a weapon. She's tough, and has a thick skull. Kinda like you, you Neanderthal." He smiled slightly and I smiled back, knowing he was right.

As we sat back in the Camaro, my phone started to buzz. Taking it out of its pocket, I looked at the screen flashing at me and didn't recognize the number.

"McGarrett."

"_Hey Jacky-Boy, any chance I could order room service with an extra helping of kick ass?"_

"Kaila?! Thank God, where are you?" I hit the loudspeaker button so Danny could hear, and he quickly dialled Chin to track the call.

"_This old house. It's oddly cute if I weren't being held hostage in it. Anyway, hurry up and track the damn cell because I'm losing battery!"_

"Hold on, it's almost done. Are you okay?"

"_Really, you're asking me that? No, I'm not and honestly I need food, and sleep, and pills."_

I looked at Danny, and as he looked back, he smiled and nodded.

"We've got her."

"Okay, Chin's tracked you, we're on our way, Kaila."

"_Thank God!"_

I turned off the call reluctantly, and called to the officers.

"Hey, we've got her location! We need to pack up and get over there A.S.A.P!"

"Told you we'd find her." Danny smiled.

"I think she found us, Danno." I replied. I didn't really care who found who though, I just wanted her back.

**KAILA'S P.O.V**

I clicked the phone off and sighed. Tears sprang from my eyes, and I wiped them away furiously.

"Talk to me." Lily said.

"Nothing, I'm tired Mushu, that's all."

"Look, I know we're hardly on friendship terms but I get it okay? This, it's shit alright? You shouldn't have got caught up in this mess. I don't even know how you're cousin did to be honest."

"I think I do." I replied to her. She looked up at me, a confused look on her face. When I stared back at her blankly, she motioned for me to explain.

"Share."

"Okay, so when I knew the password and said it was a wild theory pretty much, it all clicked. You said his name was Theo, right?-" she nodded"-well I never really talked to Maggie that much, and never got his name right, but she married a man named Theodore, like the chipmunk, and well it didn't click until you said his name back there."

"Wait, he kidnapped his own _wife_?" She played back.

"Maybe, if my theory is right anyway."

"Wait, wouldn't you know if it was you're cousin's husband?" She looked at me like I was an alien.

"I never met the guy, and frankly if I'm right, I never want to. _Ever again._"

"You didn't go to their wedding?"

"I was serving. And anyway, no one was invited. And why am I telling you this?" _I'm going crazy, and I'm done for. It's official I need help._

She laughed a little and scooted over to me, dragging her injured foot with her. Suddenly, she went to her back pocket and I moved on instinct, raising my gun to her head. She stiffened, and slowed.

"Relax, I'm grabbing my wallet." She did just that, and pulled out some photographs.

"This kid here, is my youngest sister, she's 12. Her, she my younger sister, and she's 19. This here is my brother, and he's 15. We didn't have a lot growing up so I went out and started stealing things to give them a better life. Give them the shoes they needed when theirs got too small, a new bag when the ones they had got ripped to shreds by a bully. We were in an orphanage, after our mum died, and our grandparents took the two youngest but my sister and me had to go inside the orphanage for a while. I wasn't old enough to take responsibility for them yet so we had to deal with the cards we had. I started with the heavier stuff when our grandparents got too old to care for them. They needed food, water, and clothes. A job as a waitress just wouldn't cut it. Then, one day, I fell into the problem that was Theo. He said he needed a little work doing, and I thought I could handle it, but turns out, I got more than I bargained for."

"Jesus." I whispered. She laughed humourlessly and turned her head to look at me.

"So, tell me sweetheart, what's going to happen to me when you're boyfriend gets here?"

"Not my boyfriend. And they'll probably take you where other cops have taken you before."

"Kinky." She winked at me and I had to laugh.

"Y'know, even though you're a bitch and helped to kidnap me, you're not too bad."

"Thanks, you must be way out of it. The pain's got to you big time." She replied.

"Yep." And with that, I closed my eyes, hoping the team would get here as soon as they possibly could.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews always welcome, good and bad I can take it : )**


	31. Sufficiently So

****A/N: So yeah, hey. I've been super busy with school and stuff but I've finally managed to upload something! Y'all know the drill, enjoy! : ) And I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed, and also followed this story so far, it really means a lot to me knowing you guys like it :,)****

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><p><strong>STEVE'S P.O.V.<strong>

"Get all your men to those coordinates as soon as you can!" I hollered, whilst throwing myself into the Camaro and starting it up.

Danny slammed the door shut and put his seatbelt on, knowing I'd be slamming the accelerator as soon as humanly possible.

"Okay, I get that you wanna find Kaila as soon as possible, and I do too, but jeez Steve, _slow down_."

I just pushed the Camaro harder; getting closer to the destination the co-ordinates had shown.

"Danny, I can't _not_ find her. She's my best friend!" He looked at me and as I gave him a quick glance, I saw him raising his eyebrow.

"What?" I pressed.

"Now, I'm no detective, but even _I_ can tell that she isn't just your best friend, babe."

"Danny, now is _not _the time to be questioning about my love life."

"Look, just admit it okay? I love her. It's all you have to say."

"Fine. I'm in love with her. Happy now?"

"Sufficiently so." He said, smiling like an idiot.

"_Great._"

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, we got to the co-ordinates for Kaila. Duke and his team stopped behind us and got out their weapons, ready to fire.

"Now, we check the house first. If _any one _of you find her, you shout me. You see anyone with a gun ready to kill you, put em' down."

Everyone nodded, and got ready to walk through the door. We got to the house and within twenty seconds, we were through the door, with our guns poised.

"CLEAR!" came a number of voices, indicating there was no sign of Kaila downstairs.

Three of Dukes men, as well as Danny and I, made our way upstairs as the others looked at evidence and kept an eye for anyone suspicious.

As we were looking in one of the rooms, a fresh out of school cop shouted,

"I've got Costello!"

I was out of the room in a flash and saw a red headed woman holding a gun and the door open for us all to see Kaila unconscious.

"Gun down now!" Danny shouted, and she did as she was told, dropping it and kicking it towards us.

"She's not good, y'know. Needs a medic fast." She commented.

"I'm on it." Danny replied, dialling 911 on his cell.

"Kaila, hey. Wake up babe." I said, gently patting her cheek.

I turned to the woman and asked,

"How long as she been like this?"

"Since she got off the phone to you."

"Okay." That'd only been 20 minutes at the most.

"EMT's are on route, should be here any minute." Danny said as he came to sit by my side as I tried to wake Kaila.

"Kaila?" I sighed heavily, hoping to God she'd wake up. Five minutes later, I heard Danny show the EMT's the way to their patient.

"What's happened to her?" One of the medics asked.

"She was in hospital recently with a gun shot wound. She decided to discharge herself prematurely and then got kidnapped. She's now unconscious as you can see." I explained. The medic nodded and with the help of his partner and a stretcher, they carted her out to the ambulance.

"We can take someone in the back if anyone wants to ride with us?" The medic asked.

"Her boyfriend will go, won't you Steve?" Danny offered.

"Yeah, yeah. Danny, make sure to book the red head, will you?"

"Sure Steve. Chin, Kono and me will meet you down at the hospital as soon as we can." He smiled and winked at me, and I smiled back at him.

With that, I jumped in with them as they closed the doors and set off to the hospital.

I watched on in despair as the EMT worked on Kaila, pumping her with oxygen and flicking syringes to get air out before piercing her arm and pushing the liquid medicine inside her body.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"It seems she unconscious, mainly through pain. But the fact she'd been shot in the shoulder and then kidnapped and had to fight for her life, the shock is probably kicking in as the adrenalines subsided."

"So, what you're saying is she just needs a check up by a doc and then bed rest?"

"Pretty much, Lieutenant." The medic said, a smile on his face.

I relaxed and I'm sure the medic could see my shoulders drop significantly.

"You'll be waiting on her hand and foot, man. I'd buy cupcakes, chocolates and chick flicks. That's what I did when my girl was sick."

"I'm just glad there's nothing life threatening." I replied shaking a little with laughter.

Once we were at the hospital, Kaila got taken in to a room to be examined, and I was asked to wait outside to be called. As I grabbed a woman's magazine, I saw a pair of white tennis shoes next to me. As I looked up from the shoes, I saw a familiar nurse who Kaila had demanded pills by gunpoint.

"Nala, hey." I smiled.

"Lieutenant Commander, how are you?"

"I'm okay, no need for a patch up."

"Then why are you here, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Kaila." I replied.

"Ah." She said, a smile gracing her face.

"She's uh, she's just being examined by a doctor. She got kidnapped and she's in really bad shape."

"Damn. If you need anything, ask for me okay? I'll get you whatever you need." She smiled slightly and I nodded and thanked her.

After an hour and 12 women's magazines, the doctor came through Kaila's door and greeted me.

"Lieutenant Commander McGarrett?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"I'd like you to come inside. We really need to talk." The dread came again in an instant and hit me like a brick.


	32. Be Ready For Panic and Tears

**A/N: So yeah, hey. Y'all know the drill, enjoy! : ) And I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed, and also followed this story so far, it really means a lot to me knowing you guys like it : )**

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><p><strong>STEVE'S P.O.V.<strong>

I sat across from Kaila's doctor. My foot wouldn't stop bouncing as I waited for the verdict on Kaila's condition.

"Come on Doc, just give it to me straight." I was almost begging at this point, hoping to god that she was going to be okay. He sat back in his chair, and rested his elbows on the armrests.

"It seems she went through just short of hell and back. There are no signs of any permanent damage, however. Her shoulder and knee from her previous escapades are in bad shape, her shoulder is infected, her leg is going to need to elevated and she _will _be out of action for the next 6 months at least. She's been sedated for now, just while we moved her to her own private room, but I'd wait a good 24 hours for her to come around properly. She had a lot of issues that needed to be dealt with surgically, this is true, but the mental scars are the ones I'm most concerned with, Lieutenant. I'd suggest someone takes care of her after she's been discharged."

I nodded, silently trying to come to terms with the fact that we hadn't got to her sooner. Then I asked the question I hated even thinking about.

"Are there, uhm, are there any signs of sexual abuse?"

The doctor sighed and rubbed his forehead, looking at me apologetically.

"I'm afraid that unless I have Kaila's consent, I'm not aloud to give that information out. I'm sorry."

That's when the rage came. My hand banged down on his desk as I shot up from the chair I once occupied.

"Come on, doc. She's a part of my team, she's been through a kidnapping, and the only thing that's going to stop me from _killing_ the bastards that took her, is if I know she wasn't hurt by them sexually!"

The doctor was visibly shocked but nodded.

"Mr. McGarrett, I understand you're frustration, I really do, but-"

"Do you have a wife?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you have a wife or a girlfriend?"

"Yes, I have a wife."

"Then I'm sure you understand what I mean when I say that I _will_ kill anyone who hurts the woman that I intend to spend my life with. And by God, if it's sexually, I'll do worse than kill them."

"I don't think you should be telling me this, Lieutenant."

"Then _please_ tell me."

"No, she wasn't."

My shoulders loosened and dropped. I sighed out and replied,

"Thank you, doc." I walked out of his office and went to find a nurse who knew where Kaila was.

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><p>"Hey boss, we got a lead on who kidnapped Kaila." Kono said over the phone.<p>

"Okay, get on it. If it turns out to be the person that took her, arrest him and leave the rest to me, okay?"

"Got it. Text me when she wakes up okay?"

"Sure thing, Kono."

I clicked off the phone and looked back at the woman laid on the bed. She was patched up, medical tubes coming from her hands and she was gaunt. Her face had sunken in dramatically since I saw her last. Her collarbones were protruding and her under eye circles made it look as if she'd been punched hard.

I sat in the chair beside the bed and looked at her.

"God Kaila." I whispered, rubbing my hands over my face and through my hair. Gently, I placed my hand on hers, careful to avoid the IVs. Her hand was cold, despite the heat of the room and the outdoors. The monitors beside me beeped evenly, and her eyes fluttered silently showing me she was peaceful.

"Come on Costello, you gotta pull through this."

The door opened and shut with a _'click'_ and a nurse came in to check on her.

"Hi." She whispered. I acknowledged her with a smile and moved out of the way so she could get to the machines with ease.

"She should be waking up slowly in the next hour. Be ready for panic and lots of tears." She smiled at me.

"Got it. Panic and tears. So that means hugs and chocolate."

"You got it, Lieutenant Commander."

"I'll take care of it." I smiled back, thankful she was trying to lighten the mood, something, of which I needed at this moment.

"Okay then. I'll leave you to it." She said quietly, moving silently through the room and closing the door behind her.

I looked at the jug of ice water on the cabinet and the little plastic cup tower next to it. I moved to grab one but the entire tower came down with it.

"Shit."

I grabbed them and stacked them again, keeping one to fill with water. As I took a gulp, I looked at her again.

"Okay, so... I've got a few things I want to tell you." I gulped another bout of water and sighed heavily.

"Remember those days when we'd sit on the beach and watch the waves just come and wash the sand? And we'd sit there until we were falling to sleep right where we sat. Well, I've got a confession. I fell in love with you the night you fell asleep on my lap and I had to carry you further up shore. Truth is, I didn't want to ruin our friendship, mainly because I didn't want to lose you. Then I went away, and you went on to be a part of the Navy. You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you on that base. I was so proud of you the day you rolled onto that base, and I still am to this day. You just have to wake up."

I squeezed her hand one more time, hoping it would do something miraculous and magically wake her up.

"Come on, Kaila. I just want you to wake up. If you can hear me, you're gonna probably kill me for saying this, but this is probably the best opportunity for me to tell you all this. Not the part where you're in a hospital bed, but asleep. Then you can't laugh at what I'm confessing to you."

I turned to look out of the window, the sun shining through onto my face. I watched as other patients were sat on benches with friends or family, taking in the nice warmth and getting some fresh air.

"That's not the Jacky-Boy I know and love." I heard Kaila grunt coarsely.

I whipped around so fast, I'd probably have whiplash.

"Thank God you're awake. Are you hurting anywhere? Do you need me to get a nurse?"

She smiled weakly at me, her eyes still clearly heavy with anesthetic.

"I'm okay, I take it from the smell we're in a hospital?"

"Yeah darlin. When you get discharged, you can get ready because you're staying with me until both a nurse _and_ yours truly deem you fit and healthy."

"M'kay. I'mma go sleeps now."

"Okay baby." I smiled a little, sad she apparently hadn't heard me.

She turned her head away as her eyes closed further. I turned my attention to my phone, texting the team of her waking when I heard her mumble,

"And Steve?"

"Yeah?" I asked, looking at her.

"I heard what you said. I'm gonna kick your ass for saying this was the best time, but I'm glad you said it. Wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Cause I love you too, and not in a friendship forever kinda way."


	33. I Trust You

A/N: So yeah, hey. Y'all know the drill, enjoy! : ) And I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed, and also followed this story so far, it really means a lot to me knowing you guys like it : )

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><p><strong>KAILA'S P.O.V.<strong>

"I got you." Steve said, holding most of my weight on one side and my duffel bag on the other. I was finally getting out of the prison most call a hospital.

"I know, but come on, you tell me you love me and now you're my carer?" I smirked.

"Shut up Costello, I can leave you here to fend for yourself y'know."

"Ah, but now you've declared your love I'm pulling the card."

"What card?" He eyed me suspiciously. I could see the cogs turning but I knew he wouldn't catch on.

"The 'you can't do that because you love me' card." I smiled evilly as he glared.

"I can pull the 'I'm your boss first, so shut up' card." He smirked back.

"Fine." I stuck my tongue out at him as we set off to his car. As we turned the corner, we came face to face with my loveable sidekick in crime Nala.

"Hey, you feeling any better?" She smiled.

"Lots, now I'm gonna go home where he can wait on me hand and foot for the next 4 weeks."

"That sounds delightful, if you need anything just call my number. You have it, right?"

"Sure do, you should come around anyway, I miss seeing your face, my lovely." I grinned at her.

"I know, its just model worthy." She laughed, putting her hands under her chin to frame it.

"It really is you know, you don't give yourself enough credit. How's the man hunt going?" Her face went grim as she sighed.

"Not happening. I went on a date two nights ago and he literally ditched me." Both Steve and I frowned.

"What? Why?!"

"He went to the bathroom and never came back. Dropped me a text saying, 'sorry, can't do this. Don't do well with goodbyes.' I mean seriously?" She rubbed her temples and both Steve and I sat down on the nearest set of chairs. As we did, she suddenly looked embarrassed and blushed slightly.

"Look, I'm sorry for laying all this on you. I know you want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Relax, when you finish this shift, why don't you come round to Steve's house and we bitch about the bastard who ditched your pretty little tush. Whaddaya say?"

"Sure, I finish in 3 hours so is that okay?"

"Sure is, just give me a text when you finish and I'll text you the address." I smiled and hugged her, as did Steve, and we turned to the exit.

"You want me to make myself scarce?" He asked as we finally found where he'd parked the truck.

"What? I mean if you want to, sure but if not, we could do with a guy's opinion." I winked.

He laughed and helped me into the cab. He was just about to shut the door when I turned and hung my feet out of the doorway.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Something I can now finally do after a hell of a long time, Steven. Now, get your ass over here and kiss me."

I can assure you he didn't need to be asked twice. As we met, it seemed like all of the pent up aggression, tension, attraction seemed to just finally release itself and we both seemed more relaxed afterwards. It wasn't cliché butterflies in the stomach, but there was definitely _something_. Once we parted, I threw my legs back inside and he grinned as he closed the door. He made his way around to the driver's side and jumped in.

Once inside, he started the truck and we set off to his. The ride was quiet, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was quite the opposite in all honesty, the atmosphere feeling almost languid. Then it hit me. It hurt slightly but I figured it best to ask before jumping to conclusions.

"Steve?"

"Hmm?"

"What about Catherine?"

"What do you mean?" I suddenly felt really self-conscious. _Have I misread things? Does he want to still be with Catherine? Was he just telling me he loved me to get it off his chest? Oh god Kaila, what have you done?_

Slight hyperventilation kicked in when he asked me what I meant. My eyes were wide as was my mouth. Schooling my emotions, I sucked in a large amount of air and began,

"Okay, so maybe I've misread things. Did you tell me you loved me because you thought I was on deaths door? That I'd die and you could still go on with Catherine?" I was cautious in what I said, and _how_ I said it. I was careful not to misstep and fuck things up completely.

"Wha-? No. _No_. Look, okay, I told you I loved you because I _do_. As in, never going to change for me. Catherine, as I've said god knows how many times, is my friend. Nothing more, I promise you." He smiled at me with a genuine look of concern on his face.

"M'kay, remember at Zippy's? You were kissing her like she was the only oxygen left on the entire planet. Which reminds me to go and make sure Leon knows I'm not a total dick for abandoning him and that I got kidnapped." The last part was mainly a reminder to myself, rather to Steve. He sighed and scrubbed his face.

"You saw that huh?"

"Well Grace saw it, and then she told me and I saw the finale."

"That was the last time we kissed. She was going away for a long stretch with the Navy and broke up with me." He shrugged his shoulders slightly; so slight I almost missed it.

"Oh." I rubbed the back of my neck absentmindedly, embarrassed for jumping to conclusions.

"Yeah, so that's the Catherine situation sorted. Now can we go back to being loved up teenagers again?"

I smiled slightly at him and he winked, causing me to burst out laughing.

"We're home, now get your ass in there before I lock you out for coming up with stupid conclusions." He joked; well I _hoped_ he was joking.

"Yes sir." I saluted.

Once we were inside, I got myself comfortable in front of the TV and lay down on the couch.

"So, the case."

He turned to me whilst putting down my bags.

"What about it?"

"Is Lily in custody?"

"Yeah, and she gave us the address she'd sent your cousin to."

"Is she okay?"

"Maggie's fine, she-"

"I meant Lily." He looked at me like I was insane, and I probably was.

"Why do you care?" I looked at him and motioned for him to come sit down.

"Because she seems to be the only innocent party in this entire circle of fuck up."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember Theodore, Maggie's husband?" He nodded.

"Well, he was the one that took me. I'd never really met him because Maggie and him lived on the other side of the world, and I was serving so when I got a look at my kidnapper, it never clicked."

"Go on."

"Then Maggie decided to share information that the bombing was meant for you, not me. That Teddy had set it all up to presumably get Maggie's attention again. Stop her from doing whatever she was doing. Maggie's on drugs by the way. Or was. I don't really care. Anyway, it all clicked into place when douche wads phone was at in our hands that he'd protected it with a password. He may be a psycho but he must love my cousin because her date of birth was his password."

He looked at me and let out a breath.

"And Lily?"

"I think he had some sort of hold on her. She mentioned when we were waiting to get rescued by 5-0 tat she just wanted her rap sheet cleared and that she was stupid to have believed he could do that for her."

"You think he promised her a clean sheet to do one last job?"

"Maybe? I don't know Steve, but he's got the kind of money to promise things like that."

"I dunno Kaila, it seems she's pulling the wool over your eyes."

"Maybe so, and if it turns out that I'm wrong, you can say you told me so, but just _please_ follow my lead on this. Trust me when I say, I think this wasn't a choice for her."

"I do trust you. I'll call Danny." He stood and moved to kiss my forehead, and I smiled as I realised that we were together, after all this time, what we'd been through and still managed not to die in the process.

He walked into the kitchen and I looked out to the sky, with the sun shining bright and not a cloud in the sky. I murmured to the sky and to myself,

"I hope you're proud, daddy. I think I've got what you and mom had right here with the Neanderthal."


End file.
